Mass Effect: Retold
by Caligno Bot
Summary: A rich kid gives up a life of luxury to chase his dream of becoming a soldier. What he does not expect is that fate has more planned for him. One moment changes his life, the offer to join Commander Shepard. Unknown to him, Saren is only the beginning.
1. Salvation of a Dream

**Disclaimer: Mass Effect and it's characters are owned by Bioware. Any OC's and changes to the original story are my own.**

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><p><strong>POV Garvil<strong>

I haven't seen Earth in a long time. Marcus Garvil, son of the most influential man on Earth. Son of the head of Garvil Company, a company that had branches in several different industries. You could not go anywhere on the entire planet without seeing a refined branch of the Garvel corporation. I was expected to be the head CEO of the company when I grew up. I was sent to the best schools in Alliance Space, and constantly pressured to be the best. I was considered the most prodigal student in five years from my Private School when I graduated. I had a very bright future as the head of one of the most influential companies in the Alliance.

But I wasn't satisfied.

I trained my body in the time I had, hoping I could escape this stifled life that was set in stone for me. Initially my parents approved, since the schoolwork was stressful and a non-intrusive hobby was helping to keep my mind off of distractions. They eventually figured out that I wasn't interested in continuing their life of business managers, that I would prefer to fight and make a difference in the world.

_"You only affect what's in front of you as a soldier. You affect everything as a business owner." _My father's voice ringed in my head time after time, his attempt to persuade me from my aspirations as a soldier. I would train even harder at the thought, strain my stamina even more. I vowed multiple times that I would find a way to enter the Alliance Military. The way it would happen was a complete surprise to me.

I was involved in an accident before my birth. I was never told of it, for fear it would distract me from my studies or scar me. I think it's all bullshit. My father was only interested in his empire. If I had known that I had a chance of developing biotic abilities, I would never be allowed to simply manage a company. Not even the Garvel corporation.

I found out that I had biotic potential when I was twenty years old. Usually it becomes obvious to children in their pre-teens, and some as young as five. From what I found in the vids, which might not even be true, only seven humans had ever been in the same situation as me. Some accidents regarding Eezo dust simply do not have any direct effect until another wave is used to have them develop their biotics. Mine was when I was eighteen. A nasty accident with one of the power stations near the place I worked at as a part time job caused a great deal of pollution to go through this section of London. I only went through the dust once while it happened, but it was enough.

I was working behind the counter of a net game store. There really wasn't much of a point in standing there doing nothing, I remember telling myself numerous times. The kiosk took care of nearly everything. Most of the reason I was there was customer support, basically helping people with their accounts and the occasional bullshit story about how their copy of a game got destroyed in one way or another. It wasn't that glamerous of a job, but it kept my mind off things.

The work day was normal until sundown. Three hooded figures entered the store and slowly walked up to the counter. The first thing I felt was surprise, as no one hid themselves when they entered the store. The second thing I noticed was that one of the figures was slightly taller than the others. Suspecting a possible theft, I prepared myself to press the button under the counter that alerts the nearby police force. There was already a robbery in this store two weeks ago, and the police were still attempting to find the people who robbed it the first time.

The cloaked figure that reached the counter first leaned forward, looking up only enough that I could see his mouth. In a gruff, low voice, he said: "You Garvil's son?"

I put my other arm on the counter, leaning forward on the counter and looking directly where I assumed his eyes were. I made myself sound as threatening as possible, hoping to not have a situation on my hands. "Can I help you, sir?"

The tall figure in the back looked up and directly at me. I nearly doubled back at what I saw. He was a Turian! His low voice sent chills down my spine. "We were sent for a very specific reason, Garvil. You pose a threat to the interests of certain persons. We've come to solve that problem."

I was stunned for a second at his words, but then I sprung into action. I pressed the button and grabbed the Predator pistol we keep under the counter. By the time I had it above the counter, I was looking down the barrels of three separate pistols. My instincts kicked in and a ducked, narrowly avoiding shots from their guns. I slowly moved towards the edge of the counter, hoping I would be able to take one of them by surprise if they attempted to walk around. What I did not expect was for one of the humans to jump over the counter.

I turned around and aimed my pistol. I threw myself at him and grabbed his legs as I tumbled past him. He grunted and fell over me. Using my momentum to turn myself upright, I shot towards the hand that held his gun. He screamed and let go, but the second human was already vaulting over the counter after his comrade. With speed I'd expect from a sharpshooter, he raised his gun and pointed it at my face.

As if in slow motion, I watched as his finger pulled the trigger. I wasn't sure at the time what happened next, but all I remember was that the bullet simply never hit. I understood how guns in this time worked because of my education, but I was dumbfounded as to how it had happened. The enemy looked as shocked as I did, from what I saw of his face. I took advantage of his hesitation and popped my own bullet into him. He groaned and clutched at his stomach as he fell. I threw the first man off me and started standing up. As I did, I was picked up and slammed into the wall behind me. The impact stunned me just long enough for me to let go of my pistol. I heard it crash to the floor below.

He drew his face close to my own, and I could see the full markings on his face as he stared into my eyes. I felt the barrel of the pistol dig into my stomach roughly. I seized his hand with my own and attempted to drag the pistol away from me, but he was strong. I looked into his eyes and saw my own death reflected.

"Are you ready to die, Marcus Garvil?" He taunted at me, clearly enjoying my fear.

I decided to resign myself to my fate and stopped resisting. He took a last look at my face, clearly still enjoying the spectacle. Then, his eyes showed thinly veiled surprise, and I felt the gun moving away from my stomach. A second later, I heard it clang to the ground beside my own. I felt the turian's grip of my throat recede, and I slumped against the wall, gasping air into my aching lungs. I looked up after a second and saw several police officers inside the store. The one obviously in charge walked up to me and offered his hand. I grabbed it and he helped me stumble to my feet.

"We got here as fast as we could, Mr. Garvil. Are you all right?" He said, inspecting me for injuries. It was Lieutenant Rivers, a man I had met several times. He was a good friend of my father's.

"I'm fine. I'd be a little more worried about them," I responded, gesturing towards the pile of bodies in front of me. I heard Rivers grunt neutrally as he kneeled over the first one.

Rivers put two of his fingers on the man's wrist, clearly checking for a pulse. The man groaned and drew his legs up towards his chest. Rivers stood up and looked in my direction. "You held your own pretty well here. I know you've been wanting to join the military, so I don't know why your father won't let you."

I slumped back down the wall and hung my head. In a weak voice, I responded with a simple, "Yeah."

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><p>It took me two years to figure out what had happened to that bullet. Rivers' report after the incident obviously got the attention of the Alliance. I was watched after that point, and it was when I was approached by a scientist during my vacation to Egypt with my family that I found the answer.<p>

He walked up to me smiling, obviously happy to see me. "Do you have a moment, Marcus? There's something important we need to discuss."

I looked up at the hotel we were staying at. My mother and I were here for my birthday celebration; my father was too busy to make it this year. I had just left the building in order to go to a nearby park to relax. I turned back to the scientist with curiousity and responded, "All right, I have some time. What do you need?"

He smiled and waved at me to follow him. He walked pretty fast for an older man. He appeared to be in his sixties, with balding gray hair and a lab suit that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in weeks. He led me to the same park I was going to, and we sat down on a bench near one of the corners. It was perfect if you wanted solitude in order to talk.

He sat down next to me and closed his eyes for a moment in bliss, as if he had been standing for hours. The scientist then looked at me for a moment, then smiled again and began his speech.

"We have been watching you for years now, Mr. Garvil. We understand that your family is very influential, and we do not wish to cause turmoil between you and your father. However, this simply can't be ignored. You, sir, have the potential to be a biotic." He put his hand on mine in tandem with the end of his sentence. I stared at his hand, not believing what I had just heard. _A biotic? Me? I thought that biotics were found and trained in their pre-teens._

I looked up into the patient scientist's face, and he continued.

"Let me explain what I am here for. I am a scientist, specifically one that studies how element zero affects humans. I also am one of the people charged with finding potential biotics and bringing them to Gagarin Station, so that they can be trained to hone their talents for the greater good." He abruptly stood up at this. I stood up as well, thinking I was expected to follow his lead.

"You, Mr. Garvil, have been requested to go to Gagarin Station to train to be a biotic." He put his hands on my shoulders, as if to help me understand what he was saying. I was numb, aware I was staring blankly back into his enthusiastic face. I was having trouble accepting the fact that _I was a biotic. _That echoed in my mind.

The scientist released his hands from my shoulders and stepped back. "I'm afraid there isn't much of a choice in the matter. If the Alliance sees a worthy biotic, especially one as naturally gifted as you, then there is very little anyone can do to keep them out of the military."

I perked up at the last sentence. I had wanted to join the military since I was a young boy. This was my chance! I dragged all my resolve, and held my hand out. He grabbed it with a hand stronger than I expected, and shook it firmly. He grinned at my response, and I couldn't help smiling as well.

"I'll come by tomorrow, Mr. Garvil. Everything will be explained once you get to the station." He turned around and took a step towards the entrance. He paused for a second, then turned back to me. "It's an honor being able to speak to you, sir." With that, he walked away.

I sat down roughly again, still stunned at the revelation that the aged scientist had given me. _A biotic..._

After what seemed like hours, I stood up and walked back to the hotel, this time with a skip in my step and a grin on my face

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><p><strong>AN: Just a quick note: This is going to be similar to Mass Effect, but with some noticable differences that will be obvious later. **


	2. From Kid to Soldier

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns the rights to Mass Effect and it's characters. Only the OC's and changes to the plot are mine.**

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><p><strong>POV: Garvel (2176 CE)<strong>

I stepped off the shuttle and looked around with wonder. _This station is huge..._

I looked back into the shuttle as the last of the kids stumbled off. There had been a dozen students in the shuttle to Gagarin Station, most of them around eleven to thirteen years old. I recall there was someone around fifteen or so as well. The kids all knew who I was as soon as my name was mentioned. They, in their childish ways, outcasted me on the spot and gave me strange looks the whole ride. The shuttle was a civilian class, with terminals installed for casual use. I browsed the vids for most of the time, but occasionally I had thought at what I was leaving behind. It was easy enough deciding to leave for the military, but it didn't hit me what I was leaving behind until I was already leaving.

I turned back towards the entrance to the landing bay. The same scientist I met on Earth, whom I had learned was named Dr. Miles, moved in front of us and opened his arms, facing the view in front of us.

"Welcome, students, to Gagarin Station." He waved for us to follow him and started walking towards the landing bay doors. The kids behind me were still whispering at each other. I caught _Garvil_ included at least once.

Dr. Miles led us through the corridors and varied rooms of the station. As we passed them, people working at the station would either glance at us or openly stare at the new biotic recruits, including the adult. I ignored all of them, sure that I would be a significant source of gossip regardless. We were eventually led to the apartment complexes for the biotic recruits. Each room housed six recruits. I looked around the room. The three bunkbeds dominating the far wall, the three tables on the wall next to it, and a large bookcase filled with knowledge. A door between the bunkbeds and the bookcase obviously housed the bathroom. I dropped my bag on one of the top bunks, then retired to the bathroom for a night time shower.

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><p>The next day, I woke up groggily to our new instructor barging into the room. I had a feeling he was our instructor by the way his confident walk and the way he was dressed. He was wearing a blue vest with the station's logo on the breast and matching blue shorts. I peeked around and saw the other kids on the top bunks with scared looks on their faces. They had obviously been sleeping soundly as well. I looked at the clock above the door. <em>We're being waken up at 4:00 AM Galactic Space Time? What could possibly be this important this early?<em>

I dropped down from my bed and stretched, my joints cracking audibly. I rubbed my eyes and walked up to where the rest of the kids were already waiting. No one had had a good night's sleep.

The man at the door inspected each of us in turn, then turned around and stated at us in a booming voice, "Time for your first lesson, students. Follow me." He walked briskly out of the classroom, obviously expecting the rest of us to follow at the same speed. I was the first to react, walking just as briskly as the instructor. I still made sure to keep enough distance, just in case.

We walked for several minutes in silence, except for the occasional whispering by staff as they saw me. This constant gossip about an adult biotic student was getting tiresome. I was trying my best to remember the path we took, but a lot of the corridors looked the same. I found myself wondering how this man knew his way around this place.

We stopped in front of a door labelled "BIOTIC TRAINING". He turned to us to make sure we were following, then opened the door and motioned us in. I entered the room and looked around. The room wasn't very big, just a bunch of chairs next to a wall and two doors on the other side. I sat in one of the middle chairs and waited. I noticed in passing that the other kids left a chair between me and them.

The instructor walked in front of us and turned with his hands on his hips. "Welcome to biotics training, students. This will be your first day of learning how to use this gift you have been given. Before you can begin your training, we must evaluate your natural abilities and decide upon which biotic implant will work best for you. I must warn you, there are risks regarding this training. An upward of 70% of recruits had either severe side effects or had to be relieved before training was complete when this program first started. Although this percentage has fallen every year, there is still a possibility that they can happen to you."

I shifted in my chair. All I could imagine at the time was my father's expression when given the news that his only son had some sort of severe side effect from biotic training. I bit my lip nervously at the thought.

The instructor glanced at all of us in turn again. Then he pointed at me. "You, Mr. Garvil. You are twenty years old, correct?" I nodded. "It's exceedingly rare that someone develops their biotics later than fifteen years old. From what I heard, the only way is pre-birth exposure, then another dose when you're a teenager. I've only seen one other case, myself." He motioned with his head towards the two doors on the other wall. I stood up awkwardly and started walking towards them. "Go through the left door. Follow the man's instructions and you'll be fine. The rest of you get to wait."

I pushed the door to the left in and saw a man behind a desk. He looked up at me expectantly and motioned towards a machine in the middle of the room. It reminded me of one of those chairs at the dentist's office, but more restrictive. I carefully sat down and leaned back against the fabric. The man stood up from behind the desk and walked slowly to my side. He buckled the many straps holding me in place, then altered various things including the height, angle of the back, and the armrests. I felt helpless during this process, and I began to feel panic when the man slipped sunglasses over my eyes. My view was severely obstructed, only being able to make out the outline of the man as he turned the machine on.

I immediately felt a shock in my body, and I groaned audibly. I began to smell burned leather, but I imagined it was a hallucination. I was shocked again, and I felt my hands grow warm for a moment. The burned leather smell became stronger. A third shock, but this time my hands stayed warm longer. My heart had skipped a beat this time, making me nauseous.

"Holy..."

My sunglasses suddenly came off, and suddenly I was looking into the man's surprised eyes. He adjusted the back so I could see the rest of my body. I felt an even stronger shock than before, but this time I saw my hands emit a blue energy field, burning the leather beneath it even more than before. The familiar wave of burned leather hit my nose, and I involuntarily wrinkled it in disgust. The man pressed several things inside his hologram on his arm. _I remember that from my studies, it's called an omnitool. I remember wishing I had one of those..._

Eventually the man turned the machine off and unstrapped me from the chair. I wrung my wrists and inspected my hands. They were already their normal temperature, so I was confused as to how I could have burned that leather.

The man opened the door and motioned someone to enter the room. The instructor walked in and to my side, helping me stay standing. The shocks had numbed my limbs, making it hard to walk. The instructor wrinkled his nose as well at the leather and stared at me for a few seconds. Then he turned towards the technician.

"Biotics only alter mass of objects, how can they burn leather?"

The technician scratched his head and thought about that question for a moment. "I'm not entirely sure, actually. There might be a possible connection between light and biotics we haven't seen before, making the current we send burn the seat. We'll have to research that."

The instructor nodded and folded his arms. "So what do you think?"

The technician stared at me in wonder for a few moments, then turned back towards the other man. "He's strong enough to not need an implant. I still suggest getting one to further the effects, but he has the potential to be one of the most powerful biotics we have ever trained." I started at this, looking at the technician in disbelief. _Me? One of the oldest humans ever to begin biotics training? Most powerful? This can't be true._

The instructor put his hand on his chin, obviously in thought. "There is a new level of implants available sometime later this year. The only drawback is that only one station is going to be getting them, due to how expensive they are. I'm going to file for a transfer for Mr. Garvil here." He turned and opened the door. "His talents would be a waste here."

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><p>It was several weeks later that I spent my first night at Jon Grissom Academy. I had my own room this time, and I was relaxing. Since I had the best education money could buy already, the general classes available at the station were not liable for me. Until the implants arrived, I was there only to relax.<p>

I was at Jon Grissom Academy for a month when I heard about the Skyllian Blitz. It was broadcasted across the whole station for most of the day, considering how close Elysium was to the academy. I turned on my terminal before bed to check on what was happening in the Blitz, and what I saw made me lean forward in interest.

_The Skyllian Blitz ended only two hours ago with the retreat of the batarian slavers sent to enslave the majority of the planet's inhabitants. We have recieved word from various people, colonists and Alliance soldiers alike, that they owe their lives to one man. Private John Shepard was awarded the Star of Terra only minutes ago for his courageous actions upon the surface. According to witness accounts, he selflessly risked himself for several families, risked his life to save fellow soldiers, and rallied other soldiers to this stunning victory. A senior member of the Interplanetary Combatives Training regiment, he is expected to gain the coveted N7 ranking after his stunning display here. He will be remembered as the man who saved Elysium. On Galactic News, this is Emily Wong._

I slowly turned the vid off and layed down in my bed. Staring up at the metal ceiling, I thought to myself, _I would kill to fight under the command of a man like that._ With resolve, I vowed I would work my hardest to live up to my potential is one of the most powerful biotics in the Alliance. Turning over to my side, I drifted off to sleep.

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><p>My L-4 implant was successfully placed into my brain with no side effects. I was immediately feeling the effects. While before I could feel small tingles every now and again out of randomness, I now could feel the power beneath my skin almost constantly. I worked to control my biotics for years, and learned faster than any other student in the academy. I was eventually accepted by the other students out of respect for my abilities, and I eventually grew close to them as a result. I was sad for days after any of them graduated, but that only helped my resolve to learn.<p>

I graduated from the biotics program after four years. Normally biotics graduates would go into the field immediately or enlist in the Alliance infantry to gain combat skills. I had been keeping up my fitness throughout my training, and it paid off, and did the latter to gain my competence in various weapons. I had just been processed into boot camp when I noticed a high ranking officer walking professionally to my cabin. I leaned against the log wall next to the door and followed his approach with my eyes.

He stopped in front of me and I saluted briskly. He saluted back in kind and I dropped my hand. Noticing the N7 logo on his chest, I told him, "I wasn't expecting someone of your stature to want anything to do with a biotic, sir."

He clasped his hands behind his back and stood up straight in front of me. I immediately wondered if I had made a mistake. He replied with a gruff voice, "You've been watched for six years, Private. I'm here to give you an offer to join the N7 program." He stared at me expectantly.

Just like when I was told I was a biotic, I was dumbfounded. The N7 program put out the best soldiers the Alliance had ever seen. It was also, by reputation, by far the most stressful and demanding. I thought about the offer for a second. The N7 program also was known for turning away recruits due to having biotics. I was curious as to why they would ask me to join the program.

"I'm afraid I'm confused, sir. Don't you guys reject people based on their having biotics?"

He unclasped his hands and turned to the side, slowly pacing while he talked to me. "You are correct. Usually people give the impression that they are not willing to put in the effort because of their unique skills, but biotics are in increasing demand in the military, meaning we don't have the luxury of time to train them." He stopped and turned back towards me. "You're different. The academy you came from is currently low key, and the military is not aware of your biotic skill yet. If they did, you would be forced on to the front lines in an instant." He began to pace again. "You have been keeping yourself fit, but we can hone that to be almost as great of a weapon as your biotics."

He stopped in front of me and clasped his hands behind him again. "The N7 program is only for the most extreme and dedicated of soldiers. If you can't handle it, let me know now. Your life will be difficult if you accept. I cannot guarantee you will even gain N1 status. You do not have to give me an answer now, but the offer will not last forever. The longer you wait, the more time the Alliance has to find out your biotic abilities."

I thought for a second, then looked up into his expectant face. With a slight grin, I held my hand out for him. "I'll accept, sir."

He grasped my hand and shook it, then led me to his personal shuttle.

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><p>I learned very fast why the N7 program was infamous for how strenuous it was. I trained close to 247 for the first several weeks. I was given a small group of soldiers to command through various environments, living off very little sleep. I was given only a single meal's worth of rations a day, and given the choice to decide when to eat it. I tried my hardest to spread out my food as far as possible, but I heard my stomach grumble loudly every several minutes throughout the day. It wasn't all bad, however. I had been given an omni-tool before the first mission, and my soldiers were very skilled.

The last day of the initial training couldn't happen fast enough. After I led my three soldiers through the N7 Cabin to gain my debriefing, I slumped into one of the chairs and laid my head on the smooth, cold wall. My head pulsed as the heat tumbled out of my body through my sweat. I forced myself to stand up awkwardly, although I didn't have the energy to stand up straight. I was not expected to, as a man entered the room and walked up to me. Through my waves of exhaustion, I was able to make out his face long enough to recognize him as the man heading the program. I raised my hand in a salute, but I dropped it immediately after due to the exertion. I leaned forward and laid my arms on my legs as I slowly registered someone talking.

I was lifted up by the arms and led out of the cabin. I drifted in and out of consciousness, unaware I was ever asleep, but I found myself being set down in a chair and something being placed in my mouth. As soon as I registered that I was being given food, I swallowed and opened my mouth for more. I ate ravenously and drank thirstily until I felt sick, then I resigned myself to being dragged away.

My next memory was waking up thirteen hours later in my own bed. I sat up groggily, still dead tired but unwilling to go back to sleep. I stood up uneasily and looked towards my suit. I noticed a note attached to the door and walked slowly up to the door.

_Marcus Garvil, you have passed the first section of N7 training. You have two weeks to rest and regain your strength. Take this time to think about your training. If you wish to recieve the next section of your training, then meet the head of the program at 0700 in two weeks time. Enjoy your vacation._

I wiped the message off the door with my omni-tool and opened the door to the grassy field. I walked across to the cafeteria and walked up to the counter. The man behind the counter smiled knowingly and handed me a tray already filled with an average meal. I sat down at a table in the opposite corner and ate. I wasn't as ravenous as the day before, but I still ate faster than I would normally. One of the other recruits walked in and motioned the man for a meal. Noticing me in the corner, he sat down across from me and stared at me arrogantly. I unconsciously grabbed hold of my biotics below the table

"So you're the biotic, eh? Don't look so tough to me."

I crossed my arms and leaned back, giving him an ugly stare. "And who are you?"

He simply laughed and popped a meatball in his mouth. His eye twinkled mischevously as he replied. "Name's Harrot. George Harrot. I'm leaving for N2 training tomorrow. I hear you finished just yesterday. I can see that as fact; you look ugly as a varren." He swallowed and put another meatball in his mouth.

I sighed and leaned forward, continuing to stare into his amused eyes. I responded with, "I see. Good luck in your training," and stood up. Returning the tray to the man giving the food, I returned to my cabin and opened my terminal. I sent my father a quick e-mail detailing my progress, then layed down in my bed to think, staring at the ceiling blankly. Even here, where only the most exceptional soldiers were, I was known and outcasted. I turned over to my side and sighed. Before drifting off to sleep, I thought to myself, _I hope the result is worth this. I'm sick of being an outcast._

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><p>Two weeks after I recieved the message, I confidently walked into the head instructor's office and stated I wished to continue my training. The man simply smiled and paged a soldier to lead me to a private shuttle to another facility. I spent the next six months moving from Alliance facility to facility, learning various skills I might need throughout my military career. I rose the ranks quickly, as a result of my ability to learn new concepts competently with only a few attempts. I was released to the Alliance Military with exceptional marks, skilled even for N6 standards.<p>

I was finally done with training, learning new combat skills for future use. I was finally able to begin my career furthering the Alliance's goals. As I stood in front of my first ship assignment, I smiled to myself. _I'm ready to make my mark on the galaxy._

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><p><strong>AN: This is the second of three parts of the prologue. Hang tight, the actual story begins soon.**


	3. The Squad

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns the rights to Mass Effect and it's characters. Only the OC's and changes to the plot are mine.**

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><p><strong>POV Garvil (2181 CE)<strong>

The next two years was fairly uneventful. Most of them were simple escort, search and destroy, or infiltration missions. My biotics and N7 training proved to be incredibly useful, but I was yet to be deemed worthy of the fabled N7 ranking. I transfered across several ships, thinking that I wasn't making enough of a difference. With my biotics and intense training, I wasn't sure that my current assignments were what I was meant to do for the rest of my military career.

I finally got my break near the beginning of 2183 CE. I was offered a position as the XO of a ship called The Demeter. The CO was a balding old man named Captain Francis Reynolds. I immediately responded and took my first steps on the Demeter several days later. My weapons and supplies had already been transferred and placed in their rightful spots ahead of time.

The captain was waiting on the inside of the airlock for me. "Welcome to the Demeter, lieutenant. It's an honor having you aboard." He shook my hand firmly but respectfully.

I smiled and saluted crisply. "It's nice to meet you, sir."

The captain motioned with his head and started walking. Taking the hint, I jogged up to his side and matched his stride. He began to speak as we walked. "The Demeter is one of the more advanced ships in the Alliance Military. We are tasked with some of the biggest assignments in the fleet. I was contacted by Alliance Command regarding you and your skills. I think you are perfect for the types of jobs we do." We had reached the stairs. They were too narrow for both of us to fit at once, so I let him walk in front of me. We continued our conversation when we reached the lower floor of the ship. "Our next operation is something much bigger than anything you've done so far in the military. We'll talk about it more in the briefing." The captain stopped in front of a door labelled SLEEPING QUARTERS.

"This is where you will be sleeping. Both the commanding officer and the executive officer get quarters to themselves. It's not much, but privacy means a lot when you can get it. At least, if you're stationed in a ship." He smiled and began moving to a door on the opposite hall. "This is the infirmary. The medical officer is here if you have any health issues. Our doctor is an expert on biotic injuries as well, in case you need it." I raised an eyebrow in surprise. There weren't many doctors in the alliance that knew much of anything about biotics. _I should talk to this doctor some time, injury or not._

After that was the bathrooms, between the two previous rooms. I peeked inside the men's bathroom; it was small and clearly meant to fit only one person at a time. With that finished, we walked back up the stairs and around the back wall. "This is the briefing room. All your briefings and debriefings will be in here." He turned to face me and held his hand out again. I took it and we shook again. "Once again, it's good to have you with us Mr. Garvil." He turned towards the terminal in the back and broadcasted throughout the ship, "Attention ground team. Report to the briefing room immediately."

I sat down in one of the chairs surrounding a table in the middle of the room and waited. A minute later, a man who looked like he was in his late twenties entered the room, stretched, then took the seat next to me. He smiled and introduced himself as Corporal Delan. Next was a woman, Lieutenant McKellan. Finally, several minutes after being summoned, another man entered the room. He introduced himself to me as Corporal Wellings.

With the team assembled, Captain Reynolds began the briefing.

"VI, show map 0-24." A 3D map showing a facility showed up. "This is a Cerberus facility on an uncharted planet in the the Attican Beta cluster. Alliance has had suspicions about what they are trying to discover at their facility, and we are charged with finding out." He pointed at several locations on the map. "These are the known entrances into the facility. This one is the main entrance. It's heavily guarded, so that's not an option. The others are all difficult to assess without more details about the facility."

He then turned to me authoritatively and continued. "Commander Garvil, you are to take the team on a scouting mission. Find out anything you can about the defenses, then report back here. Another ship will be arriving within the next day to assist us with this operation, so anything you can tell us with your initial scouting will be very helpful when we infiltrate. He rotated the facility so the opposide side was facing us, then pointed towards one of the corners of the facility. "This is where their docking bay is. With the way the facility is laid out, it's not feasible to have a giant entrance on this side. Most likely there's external storage. When you're down there, confirm or deny this as well. It could help when we make our strike." Any questions?"

I shook my head, then glanced around to see the other three looking at the captain patiently.

"If there is nothing, then you're dismissed soldiers. Good luck out there."

I stood up and followed the other three down the stairs, then into the elevator to the bottom floor. I grabbed my armor and put it on quickly. I made sure my shotgun and assault rifle were strapped on, checked my omni-tool to make sure it was on the right frequency, then entered the shuttle. I sat down next to the door and signaled the driver to take off when everyone was situated. We sat for a few minutes in silence, but then Wellings broke it by asking me a question. "Say, commander, is it true you're a biotic?"

He was sitting across from me, staring at me expectantly. The other two were as well, I noticed. I drew my power into my hand and released it lightly, making my hand glow blue. "It's true, corporal. I'm one of the most powerful human biotics to exist."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise and leaned forward. "That's amazing, sir! I would never have imagined a biotic being our new XO."

I looked back at him again and gave him a blank stare. I ignored his jibe at my biotics for a moment while I replied, "What happened to your old executive officer?"

It was McKellan that answered. Her voice was deeper than I thought it would be. "Our last mission was rough. We got ambushed and he died so that it would succeed." She shook her head. "He gave his life for the mission. I don't know many soldiers that passionate about their job."

I looked away and back towards the reinforced window between the seats. _I know of one man who has proved this already..._ The planet was getting closer, I noticed. I didn't respond, lost in my own thoughts. The terminal cracked to life some time later.

"Reynolds to Ground Team. You're coming in hot. The atmosphere isn't breathable, so get those helmets on." The transmission ended with a small crack.

I pulled on my helmet and sealed it, activating the VI in my suit dedicated to oxygen recycling. I grabbed my assault rifle and gripped it in my hands. I motioned for the team to get into position and stood up, holding on to the rings on the ceiling to keep my balance. We stood in an arc in front of the door, which was on the other side of the seats we were on. I felt the shuttle stop moving, meaning we had equalized enough for landing. The driver banged on the wall separating him from us as a warning, then the door opened. I took aim with my assault rifle as it opened wider, then took a shot at the nearest Cerberus trooper. He groaned and clutched at his chest where my first couple bullets entered him, then fell gracelessly to the ground. The other two soldiers dispatched to inspect the shuttle were dropped shortly after by my teammates.

I jumped off the shuttle and motioned for the team to follow. There was likely to be more troops shortly, so I moved quickly towards the facility. We saw the facility after we passed the second hill. I ordered Delan to take out his sniper rifle and look at this section of the facility through his scope. We waited patiently for a minute while he inspected, and soon enough he lowered his sniper rifle.

"There's two entrances I can see from here. The one on the left is very heavily defended, far too heavily defended for only a few soldiers to bust through. The one on the right is difficult to tell. The guard complement is smaller, but I don't know if it's small enough for us to get a team through."

I activated my omni-tool and patched in Reynolds. "Sir, both entrances on this side are a negative. We'll get back to you when we've found out more."

"Affirmative, Commander. Keep me posted."

We returned to the shuttle and moved to the east side of the facility. Our findings were no different from the first side, and the captain acknowledged this. The third was different. It was the side with the docking bay, and it had two other entrances. This time, Delan noticed that one of the entrances had a fatal flaw; sniper support from the roof was severely lacking due to the way the building was laid out. Afterwards, he investigated the docking bay. He reported that there were several large storage sheds off to the side, exactly what we were looking for.

I reported our findings back to the captain and we returned to the shuttle for extraction.

I took off my armor and began to clean my weapons. It was going to be another two days before the net mission, so I made sure my equipment was in top shape. I noticed my team glancing at me a few times during my maintenence, but I ignored it and rode the elevator after I finished and put my equipment back in my locker. I stumbled into the men's bathroom and took a quick shower, then retired to my quarters and wrote to my father on my private terminal. Stifling a yawn, I browsed the galactic news for the day, then retired when I found nothing interesting to read more about. I felt myself drifting to sleep as I thought about the mission coming up. _This mission is what I've been training for. Time to show the Alliance what I can do._

* * *

><p>I entered the briefing room two days later and sat down in one of the empty chairs surrounding the oval table. Wellings smiled at me mischevously as I sat down, and I ignored him as I leaned forward and turned my eyes to Captain Reynolds. There was another man in the room across from me I didn't recognize; I assumed he was the leader of the second squad that would be joining us for this mission.<p>

The captain had been facing the terminal in the back, but he turned around when I sat down. He walked slowly up to the table and planted his hands on the surface. "VI, show map 0-26." The same 3D image of the facility appeared, with the alterations Delan had suggested. "Thanks to the information we have acquired two days ago, we now have a solid plan for attack."

He motioned towards the one entrance Delan suggested we enter through. "Garvil, you will take your team through the facility at this point. Find out what you can about their research. Salvage or destroy what you can; I'm leaving the choice up to you. I have faith that you will make the right decision."

He then pointed towards the docking bay. "Commander Devons, your team will infiltrate the docking bay and see what you can find about the base. Afterwards, you will enter through the docking bay door and assist Garvil in his mission." The other commander saluted sharply and exited the room. I saluted as well after the door closed and began walking in the same direction.

"Commander." I turned around. Reynold was standing in the same place, giving me an unreadable stare. Suddenly, he let out a small grin and added, "Good luck." I saluted again and left the briefing room. I suited up quickly and checked my omni-tool to make sure I was on the same frequency as Devons. I made sure to grab several remote controlled proximity mines and Afterwards, I entered the shuttle and sat down on the far end, same as I did last time. The shuttle took off smoothly, and I grabbed my assault rifle, prepared for another hot landing.

We sat for a few minutes in silence until my omni tool crackled. I opened the frequency, and heard, "Commander Devons here. We've landed and are fighting our way to the storage crates."

I put my fingers on the transmitter and responded, "Affirmative, commander. We'll touch down in one minute. Good hunting." I turned off the transmission and stood up, grabbing the ceiling hook nearest to me.

The rest of the team followed my lead and stood up as well. McKellan moved to my side and asked me, "What do you think Cerberus is doing down here, sir?"

I turned myself to face her and responded, "I have no idea Lieutenant. I've heard a few things about Cerberus. They haven't been prominent long, but some of the things they've done are unforgivable. I've heard about the assassination of an Admiral in the Alliance that is suspected to be their doing. I'm bracing for the worst. Helmet's on, we drop down in twenty."

I grabbed my helmet from my back with my left hand and slipped it in my head. I pushed down on the top and I heard the seal pop. I heard the oxygen recycler pop on and the temperature regulator beep. The rest of the team gave me a thumbs up, and I moved towards the door. The driver popped over the intercom saying, "Cold landing this time, commander. Good luck on your mission. Call for evac when you're ready."

The door to the shuttle opened and I jumped off, watching the facility in the distance. I couldn't see the other team anywhere due to the distance, but I knew they were probably searching through the sheds right now. I motioned my team to follow and started walking briskly towards the facility. It took several minutes to get close enough to see the guard complement. I brought my hand out in front of me and the team sprinted towards a pair of large rocks. I followed, sprinting towards a rock slightly out of the way. I looked around it and saw a guard next to the door fall roughly. The guard on the other side froze for a second, then opened the door and ran through. I motioned to the team and began walking cautiously towards the door.

My omni-tool crackled again. "Commander Devons here. We've discovered something. There are reports here about genetic material, except these strands are nothing I've ever seen before. I'm sending this information to the captain so he can run it through the database."

Delan dropped a soldier from the roof nearby and joined us next to the door. He was correct in his assessment, the roof wasn't designed for sniper coverage in this entrance. I motioned McKellan to open the door and she nodded, using her omni-tool to bypass the lock. After a few seconds, the door opened and I peeked inside. I realized instantly why the entrance was so poorly defended. The room looked like a nightmare to attack.

I retreated my head to the side of the door as a few bullets passed by my head. "There's no less than six turrets and twelve soldiers in there. McKellan, can you provide cover with your drone while Wellings and I take cover inside?" She nodded and prepared her omni-tool. I raised my hand in a stop motion and held it. A second after I dropped it, I sprinted past the door and slid my way to an overturned table. I heard Wellings hit the table next to me and nodded to him. I noticed a trooper on the other side of the table and an idea hit me. I quickly grabbed him by the head over the wall and used my biotics to throw him over the table. He lay there dazed in the second it took for me to thrust my omni-tool's blade into his head. I stood up briefly and used Biotic Pull on one of the Engineers. His head exploded and one of the turrets fell apart. I turned around to see Delan giving me a wink before disappearing from the entrance.

We spent the next several minutes wearing down the Cerberus troops. Eventually we finished them off without complications. We forced our way through the facility, facing heavy resistance by Cerberus troops. I activated my omni-tool to send a transmission to Captain Reynolds: "Captain, we've been facing heavy resistance throughout the entire facility. This is much more than simple research."

"Acknowledged Commander. Keep me monitored. Reynolds out."

We found our way to one of the primary experiment sections of the facility. It had been evacuated, assumedly because of the attack. I walked up to the tanks on the opposite wall and stared inside them in disbelief. I felt Delan walk up next to me and glanced at him. He was looking curiously at what I was seeing. I slowly pressed a few buttons on my omni-tool, then held down the transmit button.

"Captain, I think we have rachni here."

Silence for a few seconds. "Commander, are you sure? Rachni have been extinct for centuries."

I could not mistake what was in front of me. I had seen pictures of what the rachni looked like in my studies. "I don't know of any race that looks like this. I'm going to destroy the facility; it looks like they're trying to clone them."

I took out a mine from my belt and placed it directly on the tank. I primed it and synced it to my omni-tool. McKellan was busy with the terminal, attempting to salvage any information she could. "Commander, they left sections of their data. They apparantly didn't have the time to clear everything before they left. I've forwarded what I could find to the Demeter."

I nodded and went back towards the door to the experiment room. "Let's find the man in charge here. I want answers."

We moved through the facility, going towards the top floors when we could. We found ourselves in what looked like a secretary's office. We had found our way to the administrative section of the facility. Two cerberus troops had been hiding behind the secretary's desk, and caught us by surprise. McKellan was hit in her left arm before we dealt with the hostiles. I inspected McKellan for how serious her injury was briefly. She wouldn't be able to hold any weapon other than her pistol, but her omni-tool was still functional and she could still walk. I put medigel on the wound and continued into the next room, motioning for Wellings to follow me while McKellan and Delan

We had hit the jackpot. The man in the room sitting behind the administrative terminal was smiling at us innocently. I held up my assult rifle and aimed for his head. "Stand up slowly with your hands in the air."

He stood up and walked around the desk slowly, grinning the entire time. He began to speak, as if his life weren't in imminent danger. "You must be Commander Garvil. I've heard a lot about you." He had walked a fair amount, but kept his distance from me regardless. I didn't see a weapon anywhere in sight. He was a middle aged man, dressed in a crisp suit and professor's glasses.

I took a small step back and readjusted my aim. "I'm not here to play your games. We've been sent to shut down this facility once and for all."

He cut off what I was going to say next with words of his own. "Ah, yes. The Rachni. Cerberus represents humanity in the galaxy. Our goals are synonymous with humanity as a whole." He turned around and raised his hands as if showing off a prized possession. "We will use the Rachni to overcome the barriers to our dominance. Humanity will prevail!" He turned back around and smiled at me again. "Do what you will to me, it doesn't matter. We will continue regardless of what happened here. However, you've overstayed your welcome."

Before I could respond, he slammed his hand on a button on the terminal. I heard machinery move behind me. I quickly turned around and saw automated turrets begin to rise up from the potted plants in either corner. I screamed "MOVE" to Wellings and sprinted for the man. He smirked and didn't even move as I bought out my omni-tool and slammed the blade into his neck. In the same motion, I vaulted over the desk and took cover behind it, leaving the administrator's body to fall to the ground. I heard a groan of pain and looked up. Wellings was slumped over the desk, blood appearing out of his mouth. He gave me a single weak look and closed his eyes, falling to the floor on the other side. I activated my omni-tool and contacted McKellan and Delan, then looked up from behind the cover and used my biotics to pull the barrel out of one of the turrets. After a second, I did the same to the other.

The rest of the team did not respond to my hail.

"Ah, 'Commander'. I underestimated you."

I looked up and saw none other than Commander Devons, escorted by several Cerberus troops. He didn't look like he was a prisoner. I ducked back down and prepared my shotgun. "So you're a Cerberus spy, Devons? I never would have thought the Alliance would have missed one in their command structure."

I heard him chuckle for a moment, then a second of silence before he continued. "Cerberus has a larger reach than you realize, Garvil. We might not have been around for long, but our reach is not affected by this. You have been a very interesting subject for us. A son of Jonathan Garvil, head of the most influential company on Earth, a biotic and a graduate of the N7 program. I would never have imagined such an individual could exist. But here you are." While he talked, I prepared my last mine and fixed it to the bottom of the desk. I had been laying them in discreet locations throughout the facility, and I was sure that one command from my omni-tool would collapse this facility once and for all.

He continued as I synced up the mine's detonation protocol. "You would have been an excellent agent for Cerberus. Unfortunately, my orders are to kill you. Any last words before you die, 'Commander'?"

I gathered up all my resolve and made a desperate plan. "Just this, Devons." I quickly vaulted over the desk, taking the troops by surprise. I gathered my biotics and sent a shockwave through the group, scattering them throughout the room. As I passed Devons dazed next to one of the destroyed turrets, I added, "Go to hell."

I activated my omni-tool as I sprinted through the secretary's office, using Throw to knock the cerberus guard into the other. I noticed for a brief second the bodies of McKellan and Delan. I felt a brief twinge of sadness, but adrenaline pushed it away as fast as it came. The Cerberus guards fell into a heap in the corner and I ran through the open doorway. "Captain, this is Commander Garvil. I'm on the top levels and need evac ASAP."

Reynolds responded immediately. "I have a read on you commander. Take a left on the third door and go straight. There's a balcony there. I'm sending the shuttle to pick you up. What happened down there?"

"I'll answer that later. Right now I need evac. I'm blowing this whole facility to hell."

I followed the captain's instructions and slammed the door open with my biotics, sliding through. The guards on top of the roof were visibly startled by my sudden entrance, and I used this opportunity to use Throw on one of them, causing him to land on two more in a heap. I turned around and enacted a biotic barrier, then shot at the two remaining guards with my assault rifle. They dropped within seconds and I turned back to the three guards on the ground. One was already back on his feet and taking aim at my head with a sniper rifle. I used another throw on him and he stumbled over the railing and was sent screaming to meet the ground with his face. I sprinted to the other two and substituted my assault rifle for my shotgun. I put a single round into each guard's chest and turned towards the railing. I saw the shuttle approach at maximum speed.

I heard the door open again and Devons popped through, a furious expression on his face as he raised his submachine gun. I activated my omni-tool, "Devons is a mole. I repeat, Devons is a mole". I raised a barrier just in time, as he began to rain bullets in my direction. Each bullet pushed me back, but then they suddenly stopped. The shuttle was in front of me with the door open. None other than Captain Reynolds was standing in the doorway with a pistol. He held a hand out and helped me up onto the shuttle. I turned around right before the door closed and saw Devons on his knees clutching his side.

I stumbled to the seats and took my usual spot. Reynolds sat across from me and removed his helmet with a small pop. "You ok, Commander? What happened?"

I leaned back and closed my eyes. "Devons was with Cerberus all along. He killed McKellan and Delan. Wellings was killed as we assassinated the head scientist in charge of the program. He was spouting nonsense about Cerberus being humanity's ticket to being the dominant race. I only barely made it out, as you saw."

Reynolds scratched his chin and looked at me curiously. After a second, he smiled and responded, "You did what you could Commander. There's no way you could have predicted what could happen. I'll include this in my report."

I activated my omni-tool once more. "One last thing, sir. Brace yourself." I pressed a few buttons, glanced up at the captain, then pressed the detonate button. Seconds after, the shuttle rocked for a moment. It took everything I had to stay balanced in my seat. "The facility is no longer a problem, sir."

The rest of the shuttle ride was uneventful. All I could see was Wellings slumped over the desk in the administrator's office, staring into my eyes with a look of pain. I sighed and shook my head, hoping to get the image out of my head. I stepped out of the shuttle and put away my armor. I followed Reynolds to the briefing room and watched him file his report.

After he finished, he turned around and walked up to me. "You should get some rest, Garvel."

I allowed a single eyebrow to raise in surprise before turning and leaving. I walked down the stairs and began to head into my own room, but then I had an idea and turned around. I knocked on the medical bay's door and entered.

The doctor, a lady who looked in her fifties, turned around in her chair and stood up. She motioned to one of the beds and I sat down, hanging my head. I recognized from the ship manifests that her name was Dr. Karin Chakwas. She sat down on the bed opposite me and asked me, "What's bothering you, Commander?"

I looked up into her face and sighed. "The entire ground team got wiped out, doctor. I watched one of them die in front of my eyes." She gasped and grabbed my hand. "The other two were killed by the other commander on this mission. Devons. He was a Cerberus mole the entire time."

She patted my hand with her own, but remained silent.

I stood up roughly and facepalmed. "I've been looking for an assignment that would mean something. Instead I got my entire team killed."

She laughed and stood up, putting her arm on my shoulder. "You figured out what they were researching, killed their head researcher, and destroyed the entire facility. If that doesn't mean anything, then nothing does."

I stared blankly at the one way window seperating the medical bay from the rest of the ship level. "I know, but all I can see is my team dying."

"That's not your fault, Commander. You did all you could, and gave Cerberus a serious blow to their plans."

"I'm not so sure, doctor. The man in charge said that he didn't care what I did to him or the facility, that Cerberus would continue with their plans."

She snorted. "Mind games. He knew he was dead and probably knew a lot about you. All he was doing was trying to break your resolve. Don't listen to what he had to say."

I turned and gave her a hug. "I never thought of it that way, doctor. Thank you."

She smiled and released me. "Anytime, Commander."

I walked out of the medical bay and into my own room. Talking with the doctor had alleviated my fears somewhat, although the guilt remained. I turned over onto my side and tried my best to go to sleep.

* * *

><p>Five days later, the ship docked with the Citadel. I had been notified the next day that the council had wanted to be notified of the results in person. I was shocked at this news, as I thought the council had far more important things to deal with than my missions with the Alliance. I stepped out of the airlock with Reynolds and looked at the splendor of the wards. The view was breathtaking.<p>

An Asari in a long, thin robe walked up to us. I hadn't seen an Asari in person before, either. I knew a lot about them from my studies, but seeing one in person was a completely different story. She smiled and asked in a cute voice, "Captain Reynolds and Commander Garvil? The council wishes to speak to you. Follow me please."

Reynolds and I turned to look at each other, and he motioned for me to follow her. She was walking at a brisk pace, but I was able to keep up with ease. She stopped in front of a terminal, and shortly a shuttle appeared. We climbed into the cramped interior and sat in silence for several moments. The asari kept her smile glued onto her face, and I couldn't help smiling back. These shuttles had windows, and I contented myself watching the various structures zoom by outside. Soon afterwards, the shuttle stopped and the door opened. The asari climbed out and we followed, stretching our sore limbs. She explained that we were now on the Presidium, where the most important people and services were housed. I was awestruck at the citadel's arms when we first landed, but this was twice as breathtaking.

With only a slight pause, she motioned us to follow her again and we obliged. I noticed that our destination was a giant tower near the end of the presidium. It took a while to get there, and my legs began to get sore again when we finally climbed the steps to enter the citadel tower. We were led past various checkpoints and finally we entered the council's chamber. The Asari grinned broadly at me and took her leave. Reynolds led the way to the seat of the council. I followed reluctantly, but I remained skeptical about the council.

The three council members were already ready in their posts. I recognized the man with the white markings on his face as a Turian. As with one turian he had met already, this one had eyes that could melt the skin off your bones with his glare. I shuddered and looked away. The woman in the middle looked similar to the Asari that led us to the chamber, except this one had a formal red dress with a white stripe down the middle. She had white marks on her blue face in an arc above her eyes, giving her the impression of compassion. She looked fairly regal, and I felt my eyes drawn to her experienced face. Finally, the reptilian figure on the right was clothed in a dark robe with a single red stripe down the middle, further seperated into horizontal red stripes seperated by white lines. The only thing I could see of the councilor was his face, his light gray skin accenting his large dark eyes.

I stepped up towards the edge of the platform I was on and faced the council.

The asari spoke up first. "Commander Garvil. We've heard of your exploits. We understand you recently discovered a facility researching the Rachni?"

I nodded. "This facility was run by Cerberus, councilor. It appears they were trying to clone Rachni DNA to bring the species back."

The salarian spoke next. "If this is true, then this is troubling. We hear you also destroyed the base. Did you recover any of the data?"

"One of my squadmates was able to upload parts of data to the Demeter before the facility was destroyed. The Captain would be able to tell you more about that."

Reynolds stepped up next to me. "I will forward a copy of the data to you councilors. The Alliance must also get this information, as it is a human terrorist group we fought."

The salarian spoke up again. "We understand, Captain." Reynolds nodded respectfully and stepped back.

The turian spoke next. "As I understand, the rest of your squad was killed in action." I nodded. The councilor bowed his head for a second, the other two following suit.

The asari finalized the meeting. "It is our wish that you remain on the station for the next week, commander. We will send word to a nearby hotel that you will be there to stay for a week. You will also be granted access to the wards and to return to the presidium whenever you wish. This meeting is adjourned."

I stepped back and turn around, directly in front of Reynolds. He smiled and shook my hand again. "Not many people get the attention of the council themselves. You should be proud, Commander. I'll be staying for the next week as well, recover from the last mission. Send me a message if you need anything." With that, he turned and walked briskly out of the tower. I stayed frozen for a moment, but then followed suit and exited the tower.

* * *

><p>Six days after my meeting with the council, I was sitting in a bar near the top of the Zakera Wards. The beer here was nasty, but I stayed and popped a few shots down anyway. I turned and watched the various bar folk. I was sober enough to keep my wits about, but I couldn't stop myself from laughing at the various people around makin fools of themselves. I grabbed another shot of beer and downed it thirstily, then practically slammed the glass on to the counter and looked around again. I finally noticed a seriously looking Alliance officer walking up to the counter in his uniform. I stared at him as he approached me, occasionally going into blank dazes from the drinks. He looked like he was in his sixties. He was also black, which wasn't very common in the Alliance.<p>

He finally reached me and held out his hand. I grabbed it awkwardly and felt the man shake my arm. I briefly forgot how this worked, but I regained my memory quickly enough and shaked back. He sat on the barstool next to mine and leaned back on it.

I turned to him and nearly fell out of my chair. "Anything you need me for, sir?"

He looked at me for a second. "This is no way for a soldier to act on shore leave, especially a Commander."

I let what he said sink in for a moment. "How do you know what I am?"

He put his hand on my shoulder. It felt much more authoritative than I would have thought. "I know who you are, Garvil. I'm here for a very specific reason. My name is Captain Anderson, and I'm here to give you a proposition.

* * *

><p><strong>EDIT: I somehow managed to not finish one of my sentences. Fixed.<strong>


	4. Beginning of a Journey

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns the Mass Effect series and its characters. I only own the OC's and changes to the plot.**

* * *

><p><strong>POV Garvil<strong>

In my drunked state, it took a while for Anderson's words to process in my head. "What kind of proposition, sir?"

The jaded captain sat down on the stool next to me. "I'm the commanding officer of the Normandy, Captain Anderson. I am planning on leaving for a dangerous, important mission soon. I've heard of your recent mission about Cerberus. I think you would be a great asset to our team."

I turned away and put my arms on the counter, hanging my head between them to make the headache throb more gently. It took me a few seconds to formulate a response. "You heard wrong, captain. The only thing I achieved was getting my squad killed. You don't want someone like that on your team."

I looked up as I talked, staring at the various vials hung on the centerplace of the circular bar. I suddenly wasn't looking at the vials anymore. I realized shortly after that I had been slapped. "Listen to yourself. You're a soldier, and from what I hear, a damned good one. I'm not going to accept this talk from someone who's supposed to lead others." I turned to him again, dazed. I saw lines and blurs in his face from the drinks and the slap.

"I... I don't know. I've been moving from ship to ship so often, I'm not sure I want to do it anymore. Reynolds is a good captain, one I wouldn't mind fighting for."

Anderson's responding tone was softer than his last set. "What I'm offering is a demotion. I won't lie to you about that. There is a lot you will gain, however. You get to fight with some of the best in the Alliance, as well as the most advanced warship."

I stood up. Immediately I realized what a mistake that was, as the room began to swirl before my eyes. I regained my balance before responding. "I'm tempted, sir. I really am."

Anderson stood up and grabbed my arm, as I began to wobble again. "I'll be here for at least another twelve hours. If you decide to take me up on my offer, then go to the human ambassador's office and talk to Ambassador Udina. One other thing; do yourself a favor and stop drinking. I won't accept someone on my ship who can't be focused on a mission." He let go and I heard his first few steps as he left. I looked after him until he turned a corner. I hesitated a moment, then stood up and walked to the entrance. Somehow I managed to stumble all the way back to my hotel. I set my omni-tool to wake me up in six hours, then collapsed on my bed and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>I woke up sharply as my omni-tool's alarm function began ringing, and I sat up groggily. I had a headache and my brain still felt like jelly, but I stood up anyway and walked towards the bathroom. I didn't even have to pause to regain my balance this time. <em>I'm glad that Asari-made beer runs its course quickly.<em>

I took a quick shower, then changed into my casual clothes and turned on my omni-tool's primary mode. Now if Anderson, Reynold, or the Council contacted me, I'd be notified. I stretched and opened the front door. I jumped when I saw Captain Reynolds on the other side.

He smiled at me. "I was about to see if you were in. We need to talk."

I stepped aside and motioned for him to come in. "What is it sir?" My headache was beginning to recede, and my brain felt less numb than when I woke up.

He sat on the one chair in the room and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "You've been offered a spot on the Normandy."

I was sitting on the bed facing him. "The what? Is that the name of the ship Captain Anderson commands?"

He nodded. "Do you know what kind of opportunity this is? The Normandy is the first ship made with both human and turian designs. It's the most advanced warship in the fleet, bar none. The executive officer is one of the most famous soldiers in the entire fleet. Commander Garvil. I know your history and what you can do. You've been offered a chance to fight with the best. Only the best are given that opportunity."

"Wait, the executive officer is a famous soldier?"

He nodded again, then smiled and stood up. "Commander Shepard, hero of the Skyllian Blitz."

My eyes widened and I couldn't breathe for a moment. I was being offered a chance to work with the man who inspired me to become what I am? _Me? This has to be some trick._

Reynolds noticed my reaction. "Think about it, son. I'm here to tell you that I'm willing to transfer you to Anderson's command if you wish to accept his offer. I'm not sure when you'll be able to next fight if you remain with me, and you might end up being forcefully transferred anyhow." He turned and walked to the door. Without hesitation, he opened the door and walked out of the room. I was still in shock. Remembering Anderson's words about where to go, I strengthened my resolve and decided to take him up on his offer. I signalled a shuttle to take me to the Presidium, and I stepped out with apprehension. I was nervous about this transfer.

The nearby Avina console gave me directions to the Human Embassy, and it took me several minutes to arrive. I stepped up to the section of the presidium dedicated to the various race's embassies and walked to the receptionist. The asari smiled at me and answered my question about where Udina was located. I walked up a short flight of stairs and walked up to the first door on the right. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and took a step inside. Anderson and another grizzled middle aged man were in the "room". It looked more like an extended balcony to me. The man I assumed was Udina sat behind a desk, with Anderson leaning on the edge of it. Both of them had looked up when I entered the room.

Anderson walked up to me and stuck out his hand. I grabbed and shook it firmly, then followed him back to the ambassador's desk. Udina looked at me with derision, although I had a fleeting suspicion that he was always like this. "You don't look like much, Garvil. I was expecting someone with a little more muscle."

"Quiet down Udina. You're looking at one of the most powerful biotics humanity has ever had." He turned and looked at me, putting his hands behind his back in typical officer form. "I assume you're here about my offer, Mr. Garvil?"

I nodded and sat down in the chair on the other side of Udina's desk. "I've given it some thought and talked to Reynolds about it. I've decided that I'd like to join your crew, captain."

He smiled at me. "My XO contacted me not long ago stating that he'll be here soon. I assume that he has an update regarding his mission here. Wait here until he arrives; I want you to meet him before we leave."

I nodded and leaned back in my chair, putting my right arm over my left and draping my right arm over the back of the chair. I smiled, knowing that I was finally going to meet the man I was hoping to see for years.

* * *

><p><strong>POV Shepard<strong>

I rushed out of Chora's Den and ran the edge of the bar to the various corridors in the ward. Fist had talked, stating that the quarian we had been looking for was in one of them, meeting the Shadow Broker's agents. This quarian was possibly the only chance we had to prove Saren was a traitor. The turian spectre had killed one of his own kind and another spectre, Nihlus, in our previous mission on Eden Prime. I found out right before the mission that Nihlus was there to see if I was spectre material. Anderson recognized Saren from a witness on Eden Prime's description, but the council would not listen. We found out that the turian Citadel Security agent in charge of investigating the Eden Prime incident might have leads. We tracked him to a medical clinic, where the doctor told us about a quarian that had stayed there several days ago. The quarian was looking for safety due to having information about the geth. We were told to go to Fist, the head of Chora's den, where he had supposedly went against the Shadow Broker's back to sell the quarian's information to Saren. We quickly picked up a krogan battlemaster named Wrex and went to take him out.

We only had a few minutes to get to the quarian before the information was compromised, and we booked it through the various corridors to the location Fist told us about. I turned a last corner and saw two figures in the middle of the district. One definitely was a quarian suit, and the other looked like a turian. I motioned for Wrex and Garrus to stay stealthy, in case the turian decided to kill the quarian upon us showing ourselves, then ducked behind a box. I was in hearing distance of the conversation.

"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" The quarian had an accent I couldn't quite recognize. I peeked around the edge of the box until I could see both of the figures clearly. I was lucky that the lighting was poor in this section of the wards, so the turian couldn't see me in return.

The said turian put his scaled hand on a side of the quarian's mask. He looked amused. He began sliding his hand down her suit as he talked, his eyes following it's progress. "He'll be here, honey. Where's the evidence." The quarian batted his hand away when it reached her breast.

"No way. The deal's off."

The turian laughed and signaled. Two suited men appeared from behind a nearby box on the other side of us. I couldn't tell, but they looked like salarians. The quarian reacted impressively fact, throwing a mine at the assassins and rolling to a side. The mine blew up, staggering the would-be assassins. I signaled my squad to move and jumped out from behind cover, shooting at the remaining assassins and the turian. It was a quick battle. The assassins didn't know how to react to a vicious krogan rushing at them with a shotgun in it's arms.

I walked up to the quarian and put my arm out. "Are you all right?"

She nodded and took my hand. I helped her stand up from where she had been leaning against the wall. "Thank you. I'm not sure what would have happened if you didn't come. My name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

I smiled and turned around, motioning her to walk with me down the corridor. "My name's Commander Shepard. I've been notified that you have information regarding Saren and the geth."

She stopped suddenly, and took a step back when I turned to her. "You're after the information too?"

I held my hands up with my palms out, indicating nonaggression. "I want that information to present to the council. I'm not interested in hurting you for it. I am part of the Alliance Military, I can offer you protection."

She sighed as if she had been holding her breath, then walked back up to my side. "Then I can repay you for saving my life. Lead the way, commander."

* * *

><p>I met up with Kaidan and Ashley in the market district, then walked into Udina's office. Udina was behind his desk as usual, Anderson was standing nearby, and a man I didn't recognize was sitting in the only chair in in front of the desk. As I walked in, he turned to face me, then hastily stood up.<p>

Udina looked up, noticed who had just walked in, stood up. His face displayed annoyance and exasperation. "Do you have any idea what you have caused, Shepard? A firefight in the wards, killing the head of Chora's Den? I should-" He suddenly noticed who had followed me in. "A krogan? A quarian?"

I held my hand up to stop him and took a step forward. "If you can let me speak for just a minute, ambassador, I can make your day."

Udina put his hand over his face for a second, then sighed. "I'm sorry, Shepard. This deal with Saren just has me on edge."

I turned and motioned for Tali to step forward. Udina began by asking her, "We don't see many quarians outside of the flotilla. Why are you here?"

"I'm on my pilgrimage, a tradition where a quarian leaves the fleet at an adult age and searches the stars for a suitable gift to return to the fleet. It could be food, supplies, technology, even knowledge on making the flotilla better. We have the pilgrimage to prove we will not be a burdon on the fleet's limited resources."

I folded my arms and responded, "How did you find the evidence?"

She began pacing as she told the rest of her story. "I was investigating the veil. I found a squad of geth outside of it, which hasn't happened in centuries. I tracked it to an uncharted world, then followed them until one of them became seperated from the rest. I took it out and retrieved its memory core. Most of it had been wiped out before I saved the information, but some sound files were saved. The information contained inside was incredibly important, so I felt I had to keep the information safe." She stopped and hung her head. "I made a mistake in contacting the Shadow Broker."

I was about to speak, but Anderson got there first. "The information is safe with us. What did you find out about Saren?"

Tali activated her omni-tool and pressed a few buttons. Suddenly, it began to speak. A voice I recognized from the hearing. "Eden Prime was a major victory. We are one step closer to finding the conduit."

Anderson spoke next. "This sound file proves that Saren was part of the attack! Eden Prime may have been a victory for him, but now he won't have the support of the council."

The man I had never met put his hand to his chin and responded thoughtfully, "The conduit? What does Eden Prime have to do with whatever that is?

Anderson responded excitedly, obviously put into a good mood by the evidence. "It could be anything. It must be important if Saren's putting so much effort to getting to it.

Tali interrupted our conversation with, "Wait! There's more. Saren wasn't working alone."

The sound file played again. It was just as chilling the second time. A second voice spoke next, a cold, female one, although I couldn't recognize it. "And one step closer to the return of the reapers."

The man I didn't know spoke again. "Hold on. Reapers? I've never heard of them." He appeared confused, as if the idea was something he felt he should've known about.

Tali spoke again, explaining about the reapers. "The reapers are a synthetic race that came to the galaxy 50,000 years ago and wiped out the protheans. Afterwards, they simply vanished. The geth revere them as gods."

Udina interrupted her explanation at that point, obviously skeptical. "This sounds far-fetched to me. Are you sure you're not delving into fairy tales?"

I had a revelation. I didn't let Tali respond, instead interjecting with, "My vision! I was watching the protheans being wiped out by the reapers!" I took a step towards Anderson and Udina and continued, "We have to tell the council about this. It can effect every species in council space."

Anderson sighed and responded with, "I doubt the council will believe us. Either way, we have proof that Saren's a traitor. There's no way they can ignore this."

Udina nodded and sat down at his desk. "I'll request a meeting with the council. They have to hear this immediately."

Ashley stepped up and asked the question I had a feeling she would ask. "What about her?" She motioned towards Tali, not exactly with kindness.

Tali responded indignantly. "My name is Tali!" She took a second to calm down before asking me, "You've seen me in the alley. You know what I can do, commander. Let me join you."

I nodded and turned to Ashley with a look that stated that my decision was final. "We'll be glad to have you along with us, Tali."

Ashley hung her head slightly as Tali moved from the side of the room to beside me. "Thanks. You won't regret this." She sounded relieved and happy.

Anderson motioned for the man standing behind the chair to step forward and did so himself. "One other thing commander. This man is Marcus Garvil. I offered for him to join your team on the missions ahead, and he has agreed to come along."

I had heard of the man. I held my hand out and he grabbed it. After a quick shake, I said, "I've heard of you Mr. Garvil. Good to have you on the team."

He smiled warmly and saluted me sharply. "It's nice to meet you too sir."

Udina stood up from behind his desk and walked back towards us. This time, he walked straight to the door and talked while he moved. "The council will see us immediately. Anderson, come with me. Shepard, come find us when you're ready." He walked out the door, Anderson following. The latter nodded to me before the door closed behind him.

I turned back to Marcus and asked him, "Did Anderson fill you in on the mission?"

He shook his head and sat on the back of the chair, folding his arms. "All this is new to me, sir. I don't know anything about what you all were talking about just now."

I laughed and put my hand on his shoulder. "I'll fill you in on the way. Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>POV Garvil<strong>

I stayed at Shepard's side as he led the group of us to the council's audience chamber. He filled me in on what had happened from the distress call, Eden Prime, the beacon, and the investiation on Saren. I listened attentively, fairly impressed at how unusual this type of mission was. I was apprehensive as we climbed the stairs to where the council held their sessions. I stood back with the rest of the crew as Shepard joined Udina and Anderson aboard the floor strip in front of the council. Udina was playing Tali's evidence.

"...And one step closer to the return of the reapers."

The Turian councilor spoke up first. "This evidence is irrefutable. We will strip Saren of his spectre status immediately."

The Asari councilor spoke next. "Wait. That second voice, I recognize that. It's Matriarch Benezia, one of our best biotics and advisors. If she's working with Saren, then he has a very formidable ally."

The Salarian councilor had the next comment. "I'm more concerned about the conduit. Why is Saren after it?"

Shepard shook his head and responded, "I don't know councilor. Benezia mentioned reapers. They were a synthetic race that destroyed the protheans 50,000 years ago. If the conduit is a key to bringing them back..." He trailed off.

The Salarian spoke again. "Are you sure these reapers exist, commander?"

Shepard took a single step forward and brought his hand forward in a fist. "I've seen it, councilor. I know they exist." He was indicating his vision.

The Turian councilor spoke again, changing the topic. "This talk about 'reapers' is getting us nowhere. We should focus on what we know."

The Asari councilor continued his thought. "I agree. We can worry about whether the reapers are true or not when Saren is dealt with."

Shepard suggested, "What are you waiting for? Send your fleet in!"

The Turian shook his head in annoyance. "And risk a war with the entire terminus systems? A single man can evade a fleet for a long time, commander. They're incredibly easy to track. We'll never be able to find him."

Shepard responded immediately with, "A fleet might be easy to track, but a single ship isn't that easy."

The response from the Turian was in shock. "You're suggesting- It's too soon!"

The Asari turned to him and stated in a pacifying voice, "He's right. One ship can do what a fleet can't. And he's already proved himself."

The Turian finally nodded agreement. The three of them began a ritual. I leaned forward on the rail in interest. I was curious as to what was about to happen.

The Asari spoke again. "Commander Shepard, step forward."

Shepard looked at Anderson, who nodded in encouragement. He stepped towards the edge and stood tall.

The Asari spoke again, this time with authority. "It is the decision of the council that you be granted all the powers and the priveleges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the citadel."

The Salarian continued where the Asari left off. "Spectres aren't trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fires of service and battle. Those who's actions elevate them above the rank and file."

The Asari continued, "Spectres are an idea, a symbol, the embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the council, instruments of our will."

The Turian finished the chant with, "Spectres bear a great burdon. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

There was a pause. Shepard bowed and took a step back.

"Congratulations, Commander," The Asari began, "This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."

Shepard bowed his head again. "I'm honored, councilor."

"As a spectre, you have special access to our prime stocks and supplies." The Turian spoke this time, doing what appeared to be a full 180 from disapproval to helpfulness. "Your first mission as a spectre is this: Find Saren and bring him to justice."

Shepard nodded. "I'll find him councilor."

The Salarian concluded the meeting with, "We will forward the leads we have to your omni-tool commander. We will also forward more information regarding the spectres and what you will be expected to do. Good luck commander."

Shepard nodded and turned to face us, a big grin on his face. Anderson shook his hand, but Udina looked lost in thought. "You're a spectre now. You'll need your own ship, a crew, supplies. I'll need some help setting this up, Anderson." Anderson nodded. "Meet me in my office. We'll have this ready in a few hours Shepard. I'll message you when we're prepared." With that, the two of them left. Shepard walked up to us with the grin still on his face.

I smiled and shook his hand again. I was having mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I was happy I could see such a rare ritual. Especially one to a man I greatly respected. On the other hand, I had gotten used to being the top of everything I was a part of. I pushed away the jealousy the best I could and walked with the rest of the group to the entrance of the tower.

"Well everyone, we have a few hours. You're free to do what you want in the citadel until we're ready to leave. I'll message you when it's time to go," Shepard told all of us. Everyone nodded and began to move in separate directions. I started to walk towards the nearest transit station, but I was stopped when Shepard spoke again. "Marcus, can I talk to you for a bit?" I turned in surprise and nodded. He walked up to my side and we began walking across the presidium.

We walked across a bridge and he started with, "I'm curious about you, Marcus. Tell me more about yourself."

I sighed and responded with, "I am the some of Jonathon Garvil, head of the Garvil corporation. I always yearned to be in the military, but he was very restrictive in what he allowed me to do. Eventually I was approached by a scientist and told I could be a biotic. I went to one of the bigger space stations and was told that I'd have to be transferred to a specialized one, since apparantly my biotics are powerful enough to not even need an implant." Shepard gave an impressed whistle. "I got one anyway, but I've been careful not to use them too much. It took three years to learn how to use my biotics well enough to be used in fights. Afterwards, I joined the N7 program."

Shepard interrupted me there. "Ah yes, I remember that. I graduated from it as well. It's incredibly grueling, but the skills I learned there have saved my life and others many times."

"Are you talking about the Skyllian Blitz? I heard about that when I was in biotic school. It was the most inspiring thing I had seen. It's the reason I was able to graduate so quickly."

Shepard looked at me in surprise. "I-I'm flattered. I was just doing what felt right at the time."

We stepped off the bridge and I stopped for a moment to stretch. Shepard walked another step, then leaned against a statue. I started walking again, starting the conversation again with, "I did the same thing against Cerberus. I did was felt right, but it wasn't enough. I still lost my whole squad. I haven't gotten over it."

I felt his hand on my shoulder. "You can't save everyone. What matters is that you did all you could."

I nodded and changed the subject. "So how about you? What's your story?"

He let out a small smile. "I was raised on a ship. My mother was a captain. Still is, actually. She raised me alone; I never met my father. I enlisted as soon as I was able to. I had seen the vids of combat since I was a kid and it was all I could think about." His smile grew as he stared in the distance, deep in thought. A nearby asari gave him a strange look as she passed him. I returned it to her when I saw, but she didn't notice. "I was offered a chance to join the N7 program soon after. I achieved the final ranking after the Skyllian Blitz. I remember my mother saying that night that it was her proudest moment. Soon after, I was chosen by the Captain to be the executive officer, and here I am. You know what happens afterwards."

As we continued talking as we walked towards the wards, my already great respect for the man was only growing.

* * *

><p>Three hours later, I was sitting in my hotel room, waiting for Shepard's message. I had already packed what little I had and straightened up the room as best I could. Shepard and I had talked for a little longer, then went our seperate ways to prepare. I had already contacted the council and they had given me leave to exit the system.<p>

I stifled a yawn as my omni-tool lit up. "Everyone, it's time. Meet me in front of the entrance to docking bay D-65 in ten minutes." My omni-tool turned off again and I stood up. Smiling slightly, I left the room and left my key at the front desk. I left the hotel and gave one last look at the presidium. It was just as breathtaking as the first time I saw it.

I saw everyone already assembled as I entered the C-Sec headquarters on this side of Zakera Ward. We all took the elevator together, which was a bad idea. I never again want to ever smell what I believe was krogan armpit ever again. The ride eventually ended as the door opened to reveal Anderson and Udina. Shepard took the lead.

Udina began with, "Commander. Anderson is stepping down as captain of the Normandy." Anderson nodded, no sarcasm or a hint of a joke in his face. He was serious.

Shepard looked in disbelief at the two of them. "But... it's your ship captain. I can't let you just leave."

Anderson held up a hand to stop him there. "He's right, commander. I need to step down. You're a spectre now. You don't answer to us anymore. I'm getting old, either way. I was planning on retiring soon anyway." Shepard shook his head, but seemed to accept Anderson's reasoning. "She's your ship now, commander. Treat her well."

Shepard saluted one last time, which Anderson returned. Udina was next to speak. "There are two locations where Geth have been sighted. Feros and Noveria. The details are included on your omni-tool."

Anderson continued where Udina left off with, "There's a third lead that might be worth following. Dr. T'Soni is an archeologist and the only daughter of Matriarch Benezia. She's been researching the protheans for decades. She might be able to help you find out more about the conduit."

Udina nodded and finalized with, "It's up to you Shepard. Anderson can answer any questions you have. I'll be in my office when you're done here, Anderson." After that, he walked to the elevator, then disappeared from view as the door closed.

Shepard turned to the rest of us. "Get situated on the ship, everyone. I want to talk to Anderson before we leave."

I nodded along with everyone else, then walked to the airlock. The ship was breathtaking, more elaborate on the outside than any other ship I had been a part of. My apprehension returned. It had never sunk in until that moment how momentous this mission was. I hoped my nerves could handle the pressure.

With only a small hesitation and a short decontamination, I took my first step into the Normandy.


	5. Asari Scientist

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect and its characters. Only the OC's and changes in the plot are my own.**

* * *

><p><strong>POV Garvil<strong>

We decided to wait in the briefing room, knowing that Shepard would probably like to talk to us before we leave on our first mission. I leaned forward, the nervousness still not going away. I look around at the men and women who I would fight with for the duration of this assignment. Kaidan Alenko was a biotic like myself, but knew a few things about tech as well. He looked to be not much older than me, maybe only a few years. He had a kind, but firm face as he returned my stare. Next in line was Ashley Williams. I had the idea from her actions in Udina's Office that she was a xenophobe. She confirmed my suspicions when I noticed her give grim looks to Garrus, Wrex, and Tali. She noticed me looking at her, and I gave her my most authoritative stare. She brought her gaze to the floor in front of her in response.

Garrus was the last person on the opposite row. He wore the blue armor typical of Turian C-Sec agents. His eyes betrayed him, as he had the gaze of a man who could bare your soul and study it for weaknesses. Maybe that was why he was an investigator. Wrex sat across from Garrus, on the far side of me. From what I had heard in my studies, he was a typical Krogan. He was still in his blood red armor, his skin pale yellow with various black stripes cutting through the right part of his face. His blood red eyes were piercing daggers through Garrus, which sent chills down my spine. I had heard of the krogans and their history with the rachni, the turians, and the salarians, but somehow I had never thought that a krogan would be so angry centuries later.

Tali was sitting in the chair next to me. Her suit was dark, a mixed pattern of black and purple with a hood that stood out over the rest. I resolved to ask about it later, if I got the chance. I turned back towards the door, waiting for Shepard.

Suddenly, the intercom came on. "This is your new commanding officer, Commander Shepard. We have an important job to do, find Saren and bring him to justice. We alone know the truth, the price of what will happen if we fail. Saren is powerful, with many formidable allies, but I trust in every single one of you, and know you will do your jobs are your fullest capacity. Let's kick some ass, crew."

I leaned back, smiling. My confidence spiked after the motivational speech, and I felt the air became less hostile overall. Shepard walked into the room, clearly not surprised to see all of us gathered around. I knew he was probably going to summon us all here either way.

Shepard stood in front of the terminal, facing us. "Since you all are going to be the people doing the actual missions with me, I'd like to go into a little more detail about the locations we've found." He turned and typed on the terminal. On the large screen above the terminal, a planet that had what looked to be a bunch of ruins appeared. "This is Feros. What we know about this planet is that it was a major Prothean planet. A human colony was formed there several years ago, and it looks like the Geth are there in force. A colony sent a distress beacon several weeks ago, but it was subtle enough that the Alliance couldn't spot it. The only reason we know about it at all is a small task force sent by the citadel to this system."

Ashley interjected with, "Why would the council want to keep tabs on this system?"

Shepard responded, "I don't know, Ashley. The council don't provide me with this kind of information. The colony, by what the council has told me, is not likely to last much longer. If the colony gets wiped out, we might lose the opportunity to figure out why the Geth are attacking this colony in particular." The screen blanked and Shepard typed on the terminal again. This time a white planet appeared.

"This is Noveria," Shepard began. "Geth sightings have been more subtle here. From what we have been able to tell, only one facility has been under attack, with all entrances vehemently defended. There's one more hitch with this assignment." Another clicks on the console, and a large facility appeared with a highlighted path. The path was dangerously jagged. "This facility is a hub where many major companies and several smaller ones dealing in illegalities take part in. They don't like spectres, so I wouldn't expect them to simply let us go where we need to go without some persuasion." Wrex laughed and punched his left hand into his right palm. He looked excited at the thought of "persuasion".

Shepard gave him a quick glance, but looked back at the whole of us afterwards. "There's one other thing. Matriarch Benezia has been sighted at this facility, so I doubt the geth aren't linked to her. We don't know how long we have until Benezia leaves, so it might be better to get this out of the way sooner than later."

The screen went blank again. Finally, a picture of four different systems appeared. "Dr. Liara T'soni is in one of these systems. We have no guaranteed fix on her location, but what we do know is that she is a scientist. She has been researching about the prothean's demise for decades. If we find a planet that has prothean ruins, chances are good she's nearby. If we know about her, we can bet Saren does too. Unlike the colonists on Feros, she's only one woman. If they go after her, she won't be able to hold out for long. The only problem is that it might take weeks to find the correct planet." The screen went blank and Shepard leaned against the terminal. "Any opinions on where we go first?"

Ashley again interjected first. "There's no guarantee that there's anything on Feros worth finding, and this Liara chick might be indoctrinated. Noveria's the most direct path."

Kaidan responded next. "Dr. Tsoni's an expert on the protheans. She might be able to shed light on this reaper theory we have. Going after Benezia might only bring pointless revenge, and Feros might simply be a colony that never was going to survive.

"Kaidan," Garrus started when Kaidan finished, "There are innocents on Feros that need your help. You're doing this to protect the weak. Would you be able to forgive yourself if you let them die?" Kaidan stared at Garrus for a minute, then leaned back in thought.

Shepard sighed. "You all make good points. We'll head to the Artemis Tau cluster for now and see what we find. If she turns out to be an ally, then her information on Benezia could help on Noveria. Since Asari are natural biotics, she might be able to help us fight back the Geth on Feros."

He turned around and activated the terminal again, this time to send a transmission. "Joker, send us through the relays to the Artemis Tau cluster. We'll begin our search there."

"Aye aye, captain," Joker responded before cutting the transmission.

Shepard turned around and faced us again. "Any questions?" Everyone shook their head. "Dismissed."

I stood up and stretched, then left the room and headed down towards the armory in the cargo bay. I took out my armor and polished it delicately, saddened that I had not done so in weeks. I was joined shortly after by Wrex. He looked at me in that menacing gaze I had come to expect from him. I shivered again. I took out my shotgun and began to clean it. I jumped slightly when I heard him talk, I hadn't expected it to sound the way it did. "So. You're a biotic, eh?"

I turned to him and saw him adjusting the barrel of his own shotgun, his gaze still on my face. "Yeah, you could say that." I didn't want to speak for too long. This krogan spelled trouble. He laughed, deeper and without a hint of amusement this time.

His voice pierced my soul. "Biotics aren't the only thing a warrior should rely on. Just because you're a hotshot among humans doesn't mean you're a warrior." He raised his hand, which was glowing blue with his own biotics. He had made his point. Throwing his shotgun back into his locker roughly, he walked away from me. I didn't move for several moments, but I decided to save my assault rifle for later and started riding the elevator up. Garrus had been messing around with the mako's terminal, but he stopped and joined me on the elevator as I activated the button to go up to the CIC.

Garrus' voice was much less menacing than Wrex's was. "I don't think we've met properly, Garvil. Garrus Vakarian, ex-C-Sec investigator." I shook his hand warmly. I had heard about the First Contact War; I had assumed that tensions between humans and turians were universal. I was glad to see that this was not the case. Shepard probably had a big part in this.

"Nice to meet you Garrus," I started. "As you obviously know already, my name is Marcus Garvil. Biotic and Alliance Military." Garrus' mandibles twitched, but he didn't respond right away.

The door opened before he continued our conversation. "I heard about you even before I met you, Garvil. If the council meets with someone, chances are I've heard of them." I groaned inside. Was there anyone in the galaxy that hadn't heard of me? "Anyone the council takes it upon themselves to see is extraordinary. I remember when I was asked to see the council..."

We had walked down the stairs towards the mess hall at this point. "You were summoned to see the council?" I asked, genuinely curious. "Weren't you a C-Sec investigator?"

Garrus laughed warmly. "I was considered to be a spectre. I eventually was turned down, which is fine with me. I wanted to be part of C-Sec originally because my father was. Eventually, I stayed when I saw just how nasty people can be down in the wards. Whew, some of the things I've seen would make a Krogan hurl." He hesitated, then put a claw over his face. "Well, probably not. But you get what I mean."

I nodded and sat in one of the chairs. Garrus took the seat across from me. "I'll tell you more about it later. I'd like to hear about you, Garvil."

I held up my hand at that. "Please, Garrus. Call me Marcus." The turian nodded, so I continued. "I was born the son of one of the most influential men on Earth. I joined the military against his wishes when I was discovered to be a biotic." I shook my head before continuing. "It took me three years of learning how to control it before I was cleared to begin fighting for the Alliance. Soon after, I was invited to join the N7 program." Garrus gave me a blank look. I knew the turian had seen the symbol on Shepard's armor, but didn't know what it actually meant. I cleared the confusion with, "The N7 program is the most intense training program humanity has. You are forced to lead people almost constantly, with very few sleep or lunch breaks for weeks. Afterwards, you go from station to station, planet to planet, learning the various skills needed to get out of any situation. It's a program very people go through until the end."

Garrus looked impressed, and I guessed that he had a new respect for Shepard. "The final test is to do something extraordinary what what you have learned, so that you show the entire Alliance that your training wasn't wasted. Only then do you earn the N7 marking. I recieved it only a week ago. Shepard got it after the Skyllian Blitz something like five years ago now."

Garrus leaned back in the chair, exhaling sharply. "That sounds even more grueling than what I went though. Every male turian has to join the military when they hit age fifteen. We're the military section of the council, so we have to make sure we have the recruits to keep the peace." He looked at the ceiling, as if lost in thought. "Every turian has the choice of retiring honorably once they hit forty. If they wish to remain in service, they have the choice of leaving service until they hit sixty. At that point, they are forcibly retired." I was taken aback, unknowing that turians had such a severe way of keeping their military strong.

"If you don't mind me asking," I responded, "How old are you?"

"Twenty five this coming month. I've been part of C-Sec for the past six years, part of their investigative team for four. To be honest, I'm glad I'm here instead of continuing my work. I was getting sick of all the bullshit protocols we had to follow to do our jobs. It would be much easier if we were given more leeway to make people talk or track people down."

I put my elbows on the table and rubbed my hands together. "The rules are there for a reason, Garrus."

He groaned softly. "Some rules are there to keep me from doing my job."

At that moment, none other than Commander Shepard walked down the stairs and noticed us. He strolled to where we sat and took the seat next to me. "I'm glad you two are getting along, Garrus, Marcus. Say, Garrus. This ship is designed partly by turians. How do you feel about the ship?"

Garrus laughed warmly and stood up. "This ship is amazing, Shepard. I have never seen anything like it. I can tell distinctly what is turian design, but I'm impressed with the changes humans have added to the design. It's a genius piece of work. I'm saddened we didn't think of them before."

Shepard smiled and looked at me. "How you settling in, Marcus? Anyone giving you trouble?"

I stood up after Garrus and gave Shepard a small smile. "No, I'm doing fine, Commander. I've got some things to do, I'll see you later."

Garrus sat back down as I left, leaving them to their conversation. I decided to visit Joker, the pilot. I walked across a holo vision of the Normandy and walked up to the cockpit. A man with the craziest beard I've ever seen and a cap giving a similar impression turned his chair around when he heard me approach.

His voice was soothing and sarcastic. "So you're the man Anderson was talking about. Listen, I'm not one to get too involved with the business of anyone who has the ability to kill me without using their hands. Especially if they can do it without blinking."

I face palmed and gave myself a second before responding. "I'm not going to kill the man who's supposed to fly the ship. I'm not that stupid."

He laughed. "I'm not one to take chances in person, either. We're hitting the Artemis Tau cluster in one hour. Tell Shepard when you see him. He still needs to designate which system we're exploring first." With that, he turned around and started fiddling with the controls again. I laughed softly to myself and walked back to the elevator. Now was as good a time as any to make sure my weapon mods were up to date.

* * *

><p>A week later, we were doing an FTL flight to the second system in the Artemis Tau Cluster. Sparta had no planets with prothean ruins, so we decided to investigate Knossos next. With nothing better to do, I decided to go down and talk to Tali. She was the only alien I had yet to talk to, which wasn't difficult considering how much time she spent down at the drive core. She was standing next to a terminal, lost in her work, as usual. I walked behind her and said to her softly, "Hey Tali. Have time to talk?"<p>

She jumped and turn around more quickly than I would have expected. "Oh, Garvil. Don't sneak up on me like that."

I shrugged an apology. "Don't tell me you haven't done much of anything not involving the core."

She looked towards the ground a moment, then started to pace. "I feel at home here. Quarians aren't very popular in the galaxy right now, Garvil. I'm simply used to having to stay out of everyone's way. Anyway, there must be a reason you're talking to me. What's up?"

I crossed my arms. "I was simply curious about your people, Tali. What's it like in the fleet?"

She seemed happy to respond. Apparently many people weren't interested in the quarian's culture. "We're a nomadic species. We were kicked off our home world 300 years ago by the Geth. We've been moving across the galaxy ever since, waiting for the best time to take our home world back."

"What's it like moving as a fleet?"

"Our culture is nomadic. We take what we can in order to continue our own existence. Without a place to call home, we haven't had a choice to. Our fleet holds sixteen million quarians, and it takes a lot of resources to maintain that amount of people as we move. It has made us less popular with the other races, as if creating the geth wasn't enough. Most inhabitants of a system panic when it becomes known that we're going to stop there for supplies. Most often we're met with passive hostility, and sometimes they prepare a large sum of gifts for us just so we won't enter their system and drain their resources. I'm ashamed that we let it get this far."

I nodded in sympathy. "What's your government like?"

"There are two bodies of government that keep everything running in the fleet. The Conclave has representatives from every ship, and they decide things like policing, our current course, and other things. The other group is the Admiralty Board, which oversees the Conclave. It consists of five quarians. They have a great influence in the Conclave's decisions, and they also are the ones in charge of deciding the result of the worst offenses. I'm talking about things like treason, mutiny, sabotage, you know. My father is a member of the Admiralty Board. The Admiralty Board has the decision to override the Conclave's decision at any time, but they must all resign their posts afterwards. This is to prevent the Admiralty Board from gaining too much power in this system. It's worked well for us; out of the three centuries we've been aboard the fleet, the Conclave has only been overridden four times."

I raised an eyebrow. "Your father is part of the admiralty board?

"Tell me more about your pilgrimage."

"It's a rite of passage every quarian must go through to reach adulthood. We leave our childhood ship when we reach a certain age, and explore the stars in order to bring back something of value to the fleet. When we find something, we can present the gift to any ship except for our childhood ship. This is to keep genetic diversity in the fleet. The captain of that ship can choose to deny the gift, but that rarely happens. Any captain is happy to increase the size of their crew; it proves they're able to provide for more quarians. Because my father is on the Admiralty Board, I'm expected to bring back something truly incredible. If I bring back something substandard, it would shame my father."

"I see," I responded. "Thank you for telling me about this, Tali."

She nodded. "Thanks for stopping by." After that quick goodbye, she turned around again and continued her work on the drive core.

I shrugged and nodded at Engineer Adams before walking back and towards the elevator. Wrex gave me another menacing glare, but Garrus and Ashley were rather friendly in the way they greeted me as I passed by. I nodded to them in kind and closed the elevator door. I walked out of the elevator on the CIC level to meet Shepard hovering over the galaxy map. Shepard turned at the elevator opened and smiled at me. Walking down the small ramp, he patted me on the shoulder. "Marcus. We found a planet in the Knossus system with prothean ruins on the surface. We're going to be there in one hour. Tell Tali to get ready, then do the same yourself. We're going down."

I groaned. "I just came from there, and now I have to take this piece of junk again?" I motioned towards the elevator.

He chuckled in response. "Are you complaining, soldier?"

I grumbled and turned back towards the elevator. I had always hated this thing, especially with how ridiculously slow it was. I knew the reason had something to do with the drive core malfunctioning, but the specifics were way beyond me. I walked back towards the back of the cargo hold to where Tali was.

I turned the corner and leaned against it, saying loudly, "Tali. We're touching down in an hour. You're on the ground team with Shepard and me; go ahead and prepare."

She turned to me and nodded, then left the controls to Adams. She walked past me and towards her storage locker. I looked after her, shaking my head at her paradoxical personality. She was talkative when pressured to, but rarely spoke otherwise. It was confusing to me. I followed and grabbed my armor, strapping my two weapons of choice to the back before joining Tali on the elevator. I felt Wrex's cold eyes on my back the entire time and I shivered. I could never get used to that gaze. Tali already had her suit on, so she only had to equip her weapons. She didn't look any less patient, although I wasn't sure I could tell the difference underneath the suit.

"You excited?" I asked her, since she didn't give much of an indication of what she felt about being on the first ground team mission.

She sighed and took a few moments to collect her thoughts. "I wasn't sure if I was going to ever leave the ship on this mission. I assumed Shepard brought me on only because he couldn't really say no. I'm not sure what to think about being wrong."

I laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "He's not like that. I can tell just from the few times I've talked to him. Just because you're a quarian, doesn't mean everyone hates you. I heard you mention something about showing what you could do in an alley? If that's true, then you're not here out of charity."

She stared at the floor for a moment. "I... I know. Thank you Marcus. I'm just not used to anyone outside of the fleet treating me as anything but a leech or a scavenger."

I put my hand on her shoulder again. "I have an idea on what that feels like. I've been labelled an outcast for most of my life. My schools because of my father owning a giant corporation, my biotics school because of my natural strength, the N7 program because I am a biotic, and the various crews on ships I served on because I was expected to be perfect at my job."

I was cut off when she dragged me into a hug. I was surprised for a moment, but hugged her back anyway. I knew I had alleviated something in her mind, but I felt strangely calmer as well, as if sharing my experiences had somehow made them less important. My next thought was that this was incredibly awkward, but I guessed it was to be expected from a woman who had little experience outside her own people.

The door opened and we released each other. Shepard turned and motioned us towards the briefing room. We followed and sat down in our usual spots. Shepard activated the terminal and a hot planet with pockets of lava showed up. "This is Therum. We're going to step down in the Mako and investigate the various ruins nearby to see if we can find Dr. T'Soni. We're not close enough to do any specific scans of the surface, so we'll have to wait until we're on the surface to get any leads. I'm not expecting any resistance once we touch down, but we have to be prepared for anything. Tali, have you been getting acquainted with the Mako?" She nodded confidently. Shepard nodded in response. "I'll drive. Garvil, you man the guns. If there's any resistance and we end up taking damage, you're in charge of repairs, Tali."

Tali nodded and I saluted. Shepard saluted back, then started walking towards the elevator. I groaned audibly again, which earned me a sharp look from Shepard. I swallowed and entered the elevator after the other two. Forcing down a sigh, I leaned into the corner and waited.

* * *

><p>"Commander. There's a high energy signature a few klicks to the east from your position. The readings are far too high to be normal from an average ruin, so you might have found your girl." Joker's voice echoed through the relatively cramped space of the Mako. Shepard was in the driver's compartment, nearly concealed from view due to the back location of the turret. Tali was sitting in one of the two empty seats on either side between me and the driver compartment. She seemed to be at home in the cramped conditions. I was apprehensive again, as I wasn't used to being this cramped inside a vehicle. We started moving along the only path on the planet.<p>

"Nothing yet, Commander," I said to Shepard.

"Stay alert. You never know what could be here."

We continued along for several minutes, slowly moving through to avoid driving directly off a cliff and into a lava lake. I stayed vigilant in looking for hostiles, but none appeared. Suddenly, I felt the Mako shift slightly and the shield meter inside the ship began to drain. I tightened my grip on the turret controls and looked around for the source. "The bridge, Marcus!" Shepard told me. I turned towards the bridge and saw the two geth on the edge, firing rockets. I fired an explosive round of my own and the two of them exploded, the rocket launchers creating a chain reaction. We moved slowly towards the bridge, making sure we weren't surprised again by geth rockets. The rest of the bridge was empty, but now we were getting close to the source of the energy Joker was talking about. I had a moment of foreboding, but pushed it away as we encountered a large geth machine. A single explosive shot didn't even take out its shields, and we barely dodged the blue missile it shot back, even though it moved incredibly slowly.

I pounded it with my machine gun, and finally it stumbled over its own legs, causing minor explosions across the hull before collapsing to one side. I allowed myself a sigh of relief, but stayed alert to the path ahead. We traveled like this for fifteen minutes, but soon encountered a wall where the only way across was on foot. We stepped out of the Mako carefully, making sure our temperature controls were set to a normal temperature. Carefully, we traveled through the wall and discovered the facility we came here to find. The geth had fortified it with rocket troopers and snipers. Shepard took out his sniper rifle, and I grabbed my assault rifle. Tali simply grabbed her pistol and activated her omni-tool. We snuck behind a single rock, and Shepard motioned for me to move up. As I slid towards the next rock, one of the sniper's light bulb heads suddenly exploded, the momentum shifting towards the edge. This action alerted the rest of the geth units, and they began slowly marching towards where we were hidden. I poked my head out and shot off a trooper's head as well, but had to return to cover as a rocket whizzed by my head.

I heard a zap within the geth force, and peeked out to find a combat drone. I smiled and sent a biotic shockwave through the distracted troopers, knocking most of them over. I mowed them down as Shepard took out another sniper, and suddenly only the rocket trooper was left. Shepard couldn't get a good shot, but I had an idea. I ran out of cover and sprinted towards the tower the geth was on top of, ignoring Shepard's shouts for me to stop. I reached the tower after only a single rocket aimed in my path only barely affecting my biotic barrier. I climbed the stairs quickly, aware that I'd be targeted as soon as I showed myself. Throwing up a barrier, I sprinted up the last flight of stairs and met a rocket straight in the face. The barrier broke by the blast, but I was unhurt. I grabbed the geth before it could shoot again, and it began speaking in that garbled mess they communicate with. Without any hesitation, I threw it off the tower, watching over the side as the various parts cracked under the weight of the fall. I watched with my assault rifle ready in case the geth moved, but it didn't. I went back down the tower and met Tali and Shepard at the bottom. Shepard was annoyed that I'd disobey an order. I nodded when he told me to never do it again, and we passed into the next valley.

It was quiet. There was a giant wall of what appeared to be the last remaining section of an ancient building. Crates of unknown origin and contents were littered throughout the landscape, and an entrance to a deep part of the ruins was visible nearby. We had just started moving when we noticed a geth stalker. It dropped from the small bit of ceiling attached to the ancient wall, then scaled it. I was confused by this, but then I saw a giant version of the armature we saw in the mako drop from the atmosphere. We immediately dropped behind one of the nearby boxes.

"How are we going to destroy this thing?" I asked Shepard as various troopers began to filter from the other side of the clearing.

"Take out the troopers first so we don't get flanked. Afterwards, we can take potshots at the armature until we can take it out," he responded. He ducked out from behind cover and took out a trooper with his sniper rifle. Winking at me, he took out his assault rifle and began to pound at the geth forces.

I used biotic pull on one of the troopers and stomped its face into the ground. The resulting shock hurt, but it was bearable and didn't set off any biotic field. We methodically took out every minor geth unit before finally turning towards the colossus, which had been pinning us to our location the entire time. It took over ten minutes to finally take the thing out, due to its intensely strong shields. We stood over the wreckage after our victory and sighed with relief. We walked towards the entrance to the ruins and checked in with Joker.

"Stay on standby. We've had heavy geth resistance and we don't know what's down here. We might need a quick evac."

"Aye aye, Commander."

We walked down the long corridor and into a huge room. I had never seen a prothean ruin before, and it looked more advanced than anything I had ever seen. The only way down from where we were was an elevator, which malfunctioned shortly after we started it on its course. We jumped several feet down to a broken section of floor, which showed that the lower levels of this place were very worn down.

"Hey! Is anyone there?"

We heard the voice behind one of the many barriers on one side of the vertical corridor. We rushed towards the source and saw an Asari behind the barrier, trapped in some sort of stasis pod.

"You there! I need help! I activated the ruin's security system when I heard geth inside, but I must have triggered something I shouldn't. Can you help me?"

Shepard walked up to the barrier and looked beyond. "Every way to the other side is blocked by a barrier. I'm not sure we'll be able to."

The asari pleaded, "Try to find a way around. I can't deactivate the barriers from here while I'm inside this bubble, and I'm sure the geth will be searching for a way as well. They've been searching for a way to me for a while now. I'm not sure how much time as passed."

Shepard held a hand up to stop her. "We'll find a way, just give us a little time."

The asari nodded, so we turned towards the bottom of the shaft a level down. A few scattered geth troopers were around, including one messing with a terminal. Shepard took care of that one, and we cleaned up the rest with few problems. Tali walked up towards the terminal the geth had been messing with.

"This is the controls for this mining laser. We could use it to drill a hole underneath the ruins."

I folded my arms. "It could also collapse the whole thing on top of our heads."

Shepard sighed. "It's our only way across to Dr. T'Soni. Do it."

Tali nodded, then activated a few more buttons. I jumped out of my skin as the laser turned on, and put my hands to my ears on reflex, even though the helmet got in the way of it doing anything. Shepard was doing the same thing, although I suspected Tali had braced for it since she was the one that activated it.

Shepard walked up to the giant hole where the a wall used to be, then motioned us over. On the other side of the low dip was what appeared to be a very strange and large circular elevator. Tali messed with a set of controls near the middle of the platform, and soon we started moving. We went up a single floor, and Shepard walked to the console next to the stasised asari.

"How did you get to this side? Did it have anything to do with the huge crash I heard just now?" She asked.

I walked up to her as she fell, the stasis pod vanishing. Her boots made a loud thud against the metal, and I held out my hand. She grabbed it and I helped her stand. She was beautiful, more so than any asari I had seen before. "Yeah, that was us. A giant mining laser below us created a giant hole for us to crawl through."

She nodded and walked towards the elevator we walked in from. She activated the controls and we started to move up, just as slowly as in the Normandy.

She turned to Shepard again. "You've come to take me from this place? Be careful, I don't think we've seen the last of the geth. There was a krogan with them as well."

Shepard nodded and grabbed his assault rifle. I did the same. Tali brought out her pistol, as usual. Shepard turned to us, all while stating, "Stay vigilant. We're probably not out of this yet."

Suddenly, the entire ruins shook. I lost my balance and landed on my butt. Tali, did the same, although Shepard and Liara kept their balance, barely. Liara looked around. Shepard continued with, "What was that?"

Liara stepped forward towards the location we had entered the elevator from. Suddenly, she stopped and quickly turned towards us in fear. "The mining laser. It must have triggered a seismic event! The ruins are going to collapse!"

Shepard swore to himself, but only I was close enough to hear it. He activated his omni-tool and turned on the transmitter. "Joker. We need immediate evac. Lock in on my signal and get here double time, mister."

Joker responded immediately. "Yes, commander. ETA three minutes."

The elevator took only another minute to reach the top. The one entrance from here was blocked by a barrier, but we had a more pressing concern in front of us. The krogan Liara had mentioned stood right in front of it, shotgun in his arms and a devilish glare in his eyes.

He laughed evilly. I was starting to wonder if I'd ever meet a krogan that wouldn't send chills down my spine. "I thank you for finding the asari for us. Hand her to us and you can go free. Or don't, that would be more fun." He chuckled to himself and raised his shotgun.

Shepard took a step forward and raised his fist at the krogan. "Over my dead body. You want her? Get through us first."

The krogan laughed again and several geth appeared from the sides of the doorway. I grabbed Liara and dragged her to one of the sides, depositing her behind one of the sets of wires on the elevator. "Shield yourself, don't let him get close," I told her. She nodded and activated a barrier. I peeked from the side and saw two geth shock troopers approach. I switched out my assault rifle for a shotgun and used biotic pull on the first. It took more work than simply pulling a regular trooper, but it was well within my abilities. I pumped 2 shotgun blasts into its light bulb face, which was enough to make it explode. The second appeared on the other side and spoke what I assumed was a taunt in its garbled nonsense. I used biotic throw and used my assault rifle to blast it from afar. It overheated before the shock trooper died, so I thought fast on my feet and sprinted up to it when it was just standing up. When I reached it, I activated my omni-tool's blade and shoved it into the geth's chest. The geth started shaking uncontrollably while speaking more of its own language, and I rolled away just in time for the explosion simply to graze my barriers.

I looked across the elevator. Shepard was finishing the last of the geth, and Tali was attempting to back away from the krogan. I gasped and substituted my assault rifle for my shotgun when the krogan roared and charged her. He hit her square on the chest and she went flying, hitting the wall on the other side. She slumped over, stunned. Shepard noticed and ran straight to her. I stared at her slumped against the wall for a second, and all I could think of was-

...

_I saw Wellings last gaze as he stared into my eyes. His plead was for the pain to end. In what felt like hours, his eyes closed and he slumped down on the desk._

_..._

_The scientist laughed as I turned around at the sound of machinery. I saw hidden turrets in the potted plants sitting in each corner. I thought fast and ran forward, activating my blade and digging it deep into the laughing man. His laugh stopped, followed by a scream..._

I snapped out of my fantasy to realize that the krogan, not the head scientist, was in front of me, screaming. What was even more incredible to me was that I was screaming as well. My senses came back to me, followed by fire everywhere in my body. I sensed my arm was against the krogan's warm armor, blood coating it as my omni-blade dug into him. Next, I felt all my biotic power being rushed into the krogan through the omni-blade, his own rebelling against my power. Finally, I felt nothing.

* * *

><p><strong>POV Shepard<strong>

I rushed to Tali and grabbed her shoulders. She looked up slowly at me, and I hugged her as I looked towards the krogan laughing as he began to stalk towards us. Where's Marcus?

I looked around and saw Marcus, staring at us in horror. As if in slow motion, I saw his entire body glow blue as he turned towards the krogan, and suddenly he was at the krogan's side. Still in slow motion, I saw the omni-tool's blade appear in Marcus' hand as it dug deep into the krogan's side. Both of them started screaming as the biotic power began growing more and more intense.

Suddenly, it was over. The krogan collapsed, his eyes burned out from the biotic power. Marcus stood for only a second, apparently unaware as of what just happened, then collapsed on top of the other body. Liara yelped from behind one of the sets of wires and ran towards Marcus. I offered my hand to Tali and she took it, obviously stable enough to begin walking. I nodded to her and sprinted to Marcus. He was out cold. I grabbed him and put him over my shoulder as a large rock crashed into the elevator. I nearly fell backwards with the weight of Marcus on me, but the elevator remained stable long enough for us to head towards the only entrance. The barrier phased out of existence and we sprinted through. Liara was first, since she knew the layout of the place. I motioned Tali to follow, and I brought up the rear.

We ran for a full minute before reaching the tube corridor we had entered on our way to finding Liara. We sprinted across it, and I felt my lungs beginning to hurt from the overuse. I saw the Normandy below as we exited the ruins. We slowed down as we followed the ramp down, and I nearly fell to my knees from Marcus' weight as we walked the last few steps to the airlock.

Tali helped me carry Marcus down to the medical bay. Doctor Selwyn immediately jumped up from her console at the sight of him and prepared the terminal for one of the beds. We gently dropped him onto the bed, and Selwyn began running tests. Tali began shaking, so I grabbed her in a hug to calm her down. Selwyn looked at the monitor in alarm when the first test results came back, then turned to us and said, "Leave the room please. I have to work quickly."

I nodded and helped Tali out of the room. I helped her to one of the chairs on the table and sat next to her, still keeping my arm around her in sympathy. Liara sat down across from her, looking just as grave as I assumed Tali was.

"Is he..." Liara said to me.

"We don't know," I responded. I couldn't see her clearly. What I saw had shaken me. I had seen people driven by rage, but nothing like this.

The rest of the crew appeared shortly after. I explained what happened and the reason Marcus was in the medical bay. Everyone returned a shocked look except for Wrex, who appeared... proud?

Soon after, my omni-tool glowed. Selwyn was summoning me to the medical bay. I opened the doors and she looked at me with sad eyes. "He has to see a hospital. I don't think he's going to die, but I can't tell for sure what the damage will be until he gets medical attention from an actual hospital. The types of injuries he has is not what I have the supplies for."

I nodded, then activated my omni-tool again. "Joker, we're going to the Citadel. Take the fastest route, we might not have much time."

Joker responded back through my omni-tool. "Sure thing Commander. It will severely drain our fuel, but I think I can get us there in a few hours."

"Thank you Joker," I responded, then returned to the mess hall. I wasn't sure I would be able to sleep at all tonight.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I haven't forgotten about Chakwas. There's a reason she's not on the ship.**

**EDIT: Miscellaneous errors fixed**


	6. The Price of Power

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect and its characters. Any OC's and changes in the plot are my own.**

* * *

><p><strong>POV Shepard<strong>

I asked the rest of the team to come with me to the briefing room for a debriefing while Joker rushed us to the Citadel. Tali was still in a state of shock, but she was able to walk with a little help.

I stood in front of the terminal, as usual. Liara took Garvel's usual chair. This chair issue was going to be a problem. With eight people, two people would have to stand up during briefings and debriefings. I sighed. Why am I thinking about such a minor issue?

I cleared my throat to gain everyone's attention.

"We have what we came for. Dr. Liara T'Soni, daughter of Matriarch Benezia." I motioned towards her, and she looked around nervously. She obviously was not used to being the center of attention. "Liara, we heard you are an expert on the protheans," I started. Liara nodded. "Let me give you the quick version of our mission to bring you up to speed. We're after a rogue turian spectre named Saren. He commands the geth, which you might have guessed. He's looking for something called the Conduit."

She looked down, deep in thought. I waited for her to respond. Eventually, she said with confusion, "The Conduit? All I know is that it was connected with the prothean's extinction. That's my area of expertise, a fascinating subject."

I could see Ashley facepalm. I gave her a sharp look, hoping she's get the hint not to speak. She did.

I continued along the train of thought. "What have you figured out in your research?" I asked her.

She stood up and began to pace throughout the room, in either excitement or nervousness. I couldn't tell which. "The mystery is very well hidden. The protheans were the strongest force in the galaxy, and then suddenly they're gone. There's no evidence of what caused them to go extinct. It's almost like someone came after their extinction and cleansed the galaxy of anything that could solve the mystery. There's one thing that completely puzzles me, however. My research has shown that the protheans were not the first race to go extinct in this way. I believe this is a cycle that has been going on for possibly millions of years."

I decided to interrupt here there. "Wait, a cycle?"

Liara nodded in affirmation. "From what I found, this cycle of extinction has been going on long before the protheans. Every time a species rises up and becomes a dominant force in the galaxy, they are suddenly and violently cast down into extinction. Only ruins survive. The protheans rose up from a single world until their empire spanned the entire galaxy, yet even they rose up on the ruins of those who came before. Their greatest achievements before their extinction, the mass relays and the citadel, were based on the technology of their predecessors. Suddenly, like the rest of the unnamed species before them, they simply vanished. I dedicated my life to figuring out why."

I held up my hand to stop her. "We believe we know what happened to them."

She stared at me in disbelief for a moment, then shook her head. "N-no. Commander, with all due respect, I've heard every theory out there. Any plausible theory has no real evidence to support it."

I raised an eyebrow. "Have you heard about the reapers?"

"The what?" She shook her head, then sat back down in her chair and laid her elbows on her knees. She racked her brain for several moments, then shook her head again. "I've never heard of reapers. What are they, and what evidence do you have?"

"The reapers are a race of sentient machines," I started with a calm voice. "They came to the galaxy, wiped out the protheans, and simply vanished. I saw it in a vision."

She looked back at me again, this time in curiosity. "A vision, commander? What do you mean?"

"A damaged prothean beacon on Eden Prime burned images into my brain," I responded. Her eyes widened. I had a feeling this would be something she'd be interested in. "I activated it, but the only thing I can make sense of is that the reapers are what destroyed the protheans."

She stared at me in disbelief. "The beacons are incredibly rare. No wonder the geth attacked Eden Prime. A prothean beacon, even a damaged one, is almost priceless. I'm confused though, Commander. The beacons were designed only for prothean physiology. I'm surprised you were able to make any sense of it at all. I've heard about people who went insane from what a prothean beacon implanted inside their brain. Your mind must be strong in order to prevent the same from happening to you."

Ashley couldn't hold it in any longer. "Ok, this isn't helping us," she said angrily. "We're looking for Saren and the Conduit, not trying to find out about the reapers."

I glared at her sharply, but the damage had been done. She didn't pay attention to me. Liara remained calm, however, in her response. "I'm sorry, my curiosity got the better of me. I'm afraid I don't have any information that could help you find Saren or the Conduit."

"You're a biotic, right? You could help us on our mission, information or not." Kaidan took the words right out of my mouth.

She gave a big grin in response. "I am. Also, spending decades by yourself can get rather lonely at times. It will be nice to be able to work with other people."

"Welcome to the team, Liara," I responded warmly. "The geth probably won't come after you again. If they do, they'll have a hell of a time trying."

She stood up, but began to sway. "Ugh... I'm sorry. I'm afraid I'm a bit lightheaded."

Kaidan had a response ready. "When was the last time you ate? Or slept? Doctor Selwyn should take a look at you."

She nodded. "It's probably just mental exhaustion, coupled with the news about how the protheans truly fell. I'll go see the doctor. Either way, it will give me time to think. Are we done here, Commander?"

I nodded back. "Go see the doctor. Ashley, I want a word with you. Everyone else, dismissed!"

With the exception of Kaidan, who was helping Liara, and Ashley, everyone filed out of the room. Ashley walked up to me with a blank face.

I gave her a sharp look similar to the one I gave her earlier. "That's not the way to treat an ally, Ashley. I expect you to treat everyone aboard this ship with respect. Understood?"

She nodded and gave a salute. "Perfectly, sir. I'm sorry."

I saluted back. "Dismissed."

As Ashley left the room, I turned towards the terminal. Joker's voice went over the intercom. "The Council's on standby, Commander. Do you want me to patch them through?"

"Do it, Joker."

The three councilors suddenly appeared in holographic form before me. "What is Dr. T'Soni's status Commander?" The Asari Councilor asked. Was this mission successful?"

I nodded. "Liara is currently being looked at by our ship's doctor. We found geth there, and the ruins unfortunately collapsed." I stopped to sigh. "Marcus Garvil was also injured on the mission. We're rushing to the Citadel to get him medical attention."

"I see. It's unfortunate that the ruins were destroyed, but I understand that there was probably no other choice," The Salarian Councilor responded amiably.

"We also wish the best for Mr. Garvil, Commander," The Asari added. "We'll prepare a medical unit to bring him to one of our best hospitals. This mission is too important not to have everyone at 100%"

"Don't make a habit out of destroying things we might be able to study in the future, Shepard," The Turian continued. The Salarian Councilor visibly glared at him, but I only gave him a blank stare.

To break the tension, the Asari Councilor cleared her throat. "We'll be awaiting your next report, Commander. Keep us updated." With that, the council's holograms vanished.

I activated my omni-tool's transmitter. "How long until we reach the Citadel, Joker?"

"ETA two hours, Commander."

I walked out of the briefing room, planning to take a long shower.

* * *

><p><strong>POV Garvil<strong>

I felt like hell when I woke up. Not only was my entire body throbbing painfully, but my brain felt like jelly again. I didn't remember much of what had happened before I lost consciousness. All I remember was the vision of what happened in the Cerberus base, then the krogan screaming.

Wait, I was using my biotics, and he was resisting. I remember that part...

Then... I went numb.

My eyes opened wide and I gasped painfully. I suddenly realized I couldn't feel part of my left hand. I heard a chair squeak as the occupant left it and saw through the pain to see a figure standing over me.

"...not supposed to...three hours..."

I gasped in a breath, but then I blacked out.

I came to a while later, this time without the pain. I slowly remembered what had happened the last time I woke up, then my mind wandered back to when I first passed out. I attempted to sit up, but I suddenly realized I was weak. I heard the same chair squeak as last time, but this time I could recognize the doctor standing over me.

"Doctor Chakwas?"

She gave a wide grin, but then it vanished into a scowl. "What were you thinking, trying to melee a krogan? I should slap you right now for your stupidity."

I blinked in confusion, and then everything came back at once. My head dropped back on the pillow and I remained breathless for several moments. "D-D-Doctor. W-What happened t-to me?"

She sighed and sat back down in her chair. "From what I was told, you charged a Krogan Battlemaster and used your omni-tool's blade to direct an intense amount of biotic power through his body. You're lucky to be alive, Mr. Garvil. With what happened to your body, it's a miracle your heart didn't stop on the spot."

I pushed away the thoughts crawling in my mind and propped myself up on one elbow. I noticed again my left hand's numbness. I brought it in front of my face, slowly clenching it into a fist. I felt my last three fingers as they touched my palm, but not the fingers themselves. Suddenly, I noticed that some of my toes were numb as well. "I'm.. numb? What happened?"

She sighed. "We should have known this would happen. Humans were not meant to be biotics. The amount of power you sent through your body put a significant amount of strain on your nervous system. If you weren't rushed here so fast, you probably would have permanently lost feeling in most of your body."

I finally realized that I wasn't on the Normandy anymore. I looked out the nearby window and found I was on the Citadel. "The Citadel... How long have we been here?"

"Two days. Your biotics were flaring, which were causing a significant amount of stress to your nerves. We did what we could to calm them down, but some of the nerves in your fingers and toes burned out. You'll be able to fight, but you should be careful. I've noticed that even though your biotics are fine now, your nerves are more susceptible to the same effect."

Out of curiosity, I activated the biotics in my hand. Immediately I felt a severe backlash throughout my body. I let out a small groan before the air was pushed out of my lungs. When the pain began to subside and I started breathing again, Chakwas told me sternly, "You're not to use your biotics for at least another week. Possibly two if your nerves are slow to heal. If you're careless and don't let them heal, it could take up to a month."

The throbbing pain had subsided enough to sit up weakly. "One other question, doctor. Why are you here? Shouldn't you and Reynolds already have left?"

She sighed and thought for a second before responding. "Reynolds was transferred, so I was out of a job. I started working here, but it's temporary until I can find another ship to be a part of."

At that point, Shepard walked into the room, followed by Tali. "If you'd rather be on a ship, the Normandy could use you, doctor."

Chakwas was taken aback at this. "Commander Shepard? But, don't you already have a doctor?"

He shrugged a response. "Two doctors isn't unheard of on a ship. It won't be any trouble, doc."

Chakwas grinned, then started walking towards the door. "I'd be happy to, Commander. I'd like to keep an eye on Mr. Garvil's condition in either case, so this works out to everyone's benefit. I'll get ready to transfer what I need." She turned to me when she reached the door. "You're free to leave, Marcus. I'll see you on the Normandy." With that, she left the room. The sliding door slid closed behind her, suddenly cutting off the background noise in the hallways.

Shepard and Tali helped me up. "You ok?" Shepard asked. I nodded and looked to Tali. For a split second, all I saw was Wellings again.

"I..." She started, not knowing what to say. I put my hands on her shoulders.

"When you were hit by the krogan, I was reminded of something. I didn't even realize what I was doing until it was finished."

She had been staring towards the floor, but she slowly looked up into my face as I talked. "You... I've never seen anyone so extreme when defending someone else. You worried me, Marcus." She suddenly hugged me closely. I put my arms around her, aiming a guilty look towards Shepard. He gave me an accusing stare and folded his arms.

Tali finally released me several moments later and sat in the chair left by the doctor. She bowed her head and nervously rubbed her hands. I had a feeling that Shepard was going to chew me out, and I had a feeling she knew it too.

"I understand and applaud your reasons. That's not what I'm mad about. What I am mad about is that you endangered our mission. Do you have any idea how distraught Tali was after your stunt? Do you know how worried we were?" He was beginning to shout at the end.

I sat down on the bed, hanging my head.

Shepard continued a few seconds later, calmly this time. "I'm sorry, Marcus. We're all on edge after this. You said you lost your entire unit on that Cerberus mission, correct?" I nodded. "I understand the pain. I went through it on Eden Prime when one of my unit was killed as well. It's going to happen, Marcus. Unless you can handle loss, I can't risk bringing you along on missions." I stood up, nodding again. I understood where he was coming from, and the true implications of what I had done. _Man, I'm an idiot. I'm put under the command of none other than the legendary Commander Shepard, and I end up critically injuring myself and traumatizing one of my crewmates on my very first mission. _

Shepard continued, this time with vigor. "Now. Marcus, I'm not going to ground you for this. We still have a job to do, and this setback isn't going to stop our mission. We're leaving in six hours, and you're coming with us. Understood?"

"Understood, Commander." I pushed my guilt aside and spread my arms. Shepard accepted the hug and we embraced for a few seconds. With no further words, the three of us left the hospital.

* * *

><p>I was slightly limping with every step, and my left hand was incredibly awkward to use, but I was able to reach the Normandy again without problems. Garrus was sitting on a bench nearby. When the three of us passed, he stood up and walked towards us excitedly.<p>

"Garvil! I was wondering if you'd be able to return." We slapped our right hands together. Apparently it was a turian custom, but one I enjoyed nonetheless. I wasn't in the mood this time, however. "I'm glad I'm going to be able to talk to someone that isn't Wrex again. You know how he is." It was meant to be humorous, but I only sighed in response. I knew only too well how Wrex was. I wasn't looking forward to seeing him again, considering my new weakness.

Garrus noticed my sudden change in mood and lost his excitement. "Well, I'm glad you're all right, Marcus. I wouldn't have anyone fun to talk to if you couldn't return." Shepard folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. Garrus chuckled. "You're on the list too, Shepard."

Shepard chuckled alongside him. "Typical Garrus. We're leaving in a few hours. If you want to get anything while we're here, now's your chance."

Garrus shook his head. "I already got the weapon mods I wanted yesterday. I'm ready whenever everyone else is."

I took my first look at the Presidium since I woke up. Between the friendly banter and the view, the smile returned to my face. I stared until I felt Tali's hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw that Garrus and Shepard were already gone. My thoughts had caught up with me again.

I turned my body to face Tali's again. "I'm sorry, Tali."

"I'm not mad. Just... please. Don't make us worry again."

I nodded and she turned towards the ship. I listened to her receding footsteps as I watched the Presidium again. I don't know how long I stared, but eventually I took a deep breath and returned to the Normandy.

I barely took a step inside the ship when I heard Joker's voice from the cockpit.

"And here the man is, himself! The one who makes krogans explode with his bare hands. Uh, Marcus? Remind me never to get on the receiving end of that. I'm not sure if the impact would be worse, or the "

I facepalmed in annoyance. Why does Joker always have to make terrible jokes at the worst times? I ignored him and walked towards the stairs. I opened one of the cupboards dedicated to our rations throughout our trip through space and grabbed what looked like a package of spiced noodles with one of those bland tasting fruit shakes. I shrugged and threw the former in the cooker, downing the latter in one straight gulp. Those were always nasty. I waited for the timer to tick down, then grabbed my meal and retired to the nearest table. I was halfway through my meal when I heard someone coming down the stairs from the CIC.

I glanced over and my blood ran cold. Wrex was slowly creeping through the room towards the table I was eating at. I froze with my fork midair. Wrex stopped when he finally reached my table. We stared at each other for a moment, my spine chilling more and more with each second. Finally, he broke the tension by laughing heartily. I dropped my fork in confusion.

"You ran up to a krogan and killed him with your bare hands. You're all right, kid." He slapped me on the back roughly, then turned and walked back to the stairs. I stared after him in shock. I was expecting the same treatment he had been giving me the past week, not acceptance. I shook my head in disbelief and finished my meal. _Things keep getting weirder and weirder..._

* * *

><p>"Your nerves are healing, Marcus. You should be relatively ready for battle in another few days," Chakwas said as she watched the screen attached to my bed fill with various numbers and letters I didn't recognize. I was sitting with my legs over the edge, with various wires attached to my body. I sighed in relief and waited as the wires were removed. Selwyn was sitting at the desk typing on her terminal, ignoring the both of us. She was disgruntled with Chakwas' transfer to the ship, but she didn't openly resist.<p>

I stood up after Chakwas was done and stretched my arms over my head. It was several days later, and the ship was relatively back to normal. I began to be able to use my left hand better, getting used to the numbness in my three fingers. I heard that we were going to Feros next, but the mission would happen before my nerves were fully healed. I sighed, slipping back into depression at the situation. I stayed out of the way of everyone since my return, mostly out of guilt but partly because I felt I didn't belong here. I walked calmly out of the medical bay to find Kaidan waiting for me. His arms were crossed and he gave me a piercing stare that showed he wasn't willing to let me go until we talked.

"You've been avoiding everyone," he began. "Why are you slinking around by yourself trying to stay out of everyone's way?"

My returning stare was blank. "I disgraced the entire team, Kaidan. One stupid move, and we're delayed by three days."

He gave an exasperated sigh. "Shepard allowed you back on the ship anyway. He's giving you another chance. If you're going to keep your head up your ass about it, then it's probably better we left you there."

I faced away from him and walked towards the sleeping pods. My voice was little more than a whisper, but I knew he heard it. "Maybe so."


	7. Redemption

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect and its characters. All I own is the OC's and changes in the plot.**

* * *

><p><strong>POV Shepard<strong>

Ashley was the last to enter the briefing room, yawning and holding an energy bar as she took the last seat. I crossed my arms and gave her a stern look. Her response was a simple shrug. It took ten whole minutes for her to respond to my summons, and even then she took another ten to get here. _I'll never understand her._

The rest of the group wasn't paying attention. Kaidan and Liara were having a conversation, as were Garrus and Tali. Wrex was simply staring at various points in the room with his usual dark gaze. I hadn't bothered summoning Garvil. He wasn't coming along, and he was sleeping anyway.

I coughed to get everyone's attention, then activated the terminal. The surface of Feros lit up on the screen above my head, and I turned back around.

"This is Feros, one of the biggest prothean cities before their extinction. We're touching down in one of the docking bays nearby. If we're lucky, we're not too late to help whoever's left. All seven of us are going to the colony, and we'll figure out what to do when we're down there. Any questions?"

"Yes, Commander," Kaidan responded. "Do we have any idea why the geth are here?"

I shook my head. "We'll figure that out when we're down there. Any other questions?" I waited several seconds. "All right, grab your arms and armor. We move out in five."

* * *

><p>I stepped out of the Normandy's airlock and saw a rugged man who looked like he'd seen better times run up to me. "Are you here to help us with the geth?" He sounded frantic, eyes wide and sweating profusely.<p>

I nodded back to him and motioned the rest of the squad to lower their weapons. He continued, talking so fast I could barely understand what he was saying. "Zhu's hope is across the path here. W-we don't have anywhere to go, nothing to-" He stopped suddenly. His mouth gave an 'o' of surprise, then he collaped over. A geth trooper was standing behind him, talking in its robotic garbled mess. I grabbed my shotgun and shot it in the head, causing it to fly backwards with strangled machinery noises.

The other geth accompanying the first were no match for the seven of us. We moved through a short corridor with winding stairs and came across a clearing. I saw guns pointed at us, but one of the colonists ordered the others to stand down and let us enter. I saw just how badly off the colonists were. Their food and water were mostly cut off, and their power grid was offline. I passed through the camp to the other edge, where an older man was talking with what looked like a young woman. The woman saw us first, raising her gun for a second. She only lowered it when she saw we didn't raise ours in response.

The man stepped up without fear. "Thank god you're here. We've been fighting off geth for weeks. I'm not sure how much more we can take. Oh, my name's Fai Dan. I'm, I guess you could say, the leader of this colony." He laughed grimly. "This center of glory. This here is Ms. Martinez. She leads the militia defending this settlement."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you have any idea why the geth are here?"

The man opened his mouth and flinched at the same time. After a few seconds, he responded with, "I have no idea. I'm not sure why anyone would want to attack a colony this far out of the way of anything. Nothing valuable's here."

Martinez held her hand up and looked around the box she was behind towards the second entrance. "I heard something." She continued watching, frozen. A few seconds later, she moved towards the edge and faced us. "There's geth in the tower!"

Fai Dan grabbed an assault rifle from his back. "Protect the heart of the colony!" He yelled before following Martinez' lead.

I looked towards my squad. "Liara, Ashley, you're with me. The rest of you, stay here and help defend the colony in case any get past us. Everyone nodded, and I turned back towards the geth-filled doorway. I dived behind the stone rocks opposite the box Fai Dan and Martinez were behind, then looked out and shot down a trooper. I saw a shock trooper collapse behind it, and turned around to see Tali manipulating her omni-tool.

It took only a few moments to clear out the remaining geth. There weren't many, since the entrance behind was fairly small. I stepped into the winding staircase room, Liara and Ashley close behind. I started walking up the various stairs, stopping to take care of any stragglers I found. We walked up a few flights until we reached the top. Ahead was a large room, somewhat circular in shape, although the circle was nowhere near complete. Geth began to stream in from the ceiling as we entered, causing the three of us to dive behind cover. I felt a rocket jam the rock I hid behind, showering me in rock dust. I spit out the nasty taste and looked over the rock to find geth destroyers slowly walking towards us, troopers close behind.

Liara let loose a biotic throw, knocking over one of the destroyers directly on one of the troopers. The resulting crash was satisfying to hear. Ashley was mowing down the geth on the lower level of the room, so I did the same with the higher level. I activated my assault rifle's alternate fire, causing the shots to be far more acccurate and take up much less heat. The only drawback was that it only lasted several seconds and needed a long time to cool down the excess heat. The time I had was more than enough to completely take down another destroyer, and suddenly there were only shock troopers left. Liara had used her biotics cleverly to use the destroyer's weight against them.

Only another minute was needed to clean up the rest of the geth forces. Ashley walked up and leaned over one of the destroyer's wrecked remains. She gave a disgusted look and stomped what remained of the head into the ground. With that finished, we returned to Fai Dan.

"Thank you for your help," he said to us gratefully. "We probably would not have survived that attack without your help."

Martinez continued before any of us could respond. "They come back, they always come back. Always stronger than before." She sounded half insane, as if trying to plead with us to stop them. I raised my hand to stop her.

"We'll find out why they're here."

She nodded and turned back to Fai Dan. He looked around shiftily, then spoke one last thing to us. "The geth's main base is in Exo-Geni's main headquarters. It's directly across the skyway. You might be able to find clues there."

I nodded and smiled at him in thanks. He ignored me and turned back to Martinez. I turned back to my squad, who had all rallied up behind me.

"Ashley and Liara will come with me to Exo-Geni headquarters. Garrus, we'll need someone at the Normandy in case the geth find some way to attack it. I don't trust the way they got there as soon as we landed." The turian nodded reluctantly. "The rest of you, see what you can do for the colony. There's probably a few things they could use help with. Any objections?" I was expecting at least Garrus to have some, but surprisingly no one had any. I nodded and walked back towards the elevator I had ignored the first time we had gone through this area.

The elevator opened a minute later to reveal a wide open room. Two colonists were hiding from various geth on the low ground. I smiled and walked forward, shooting down geth as I moved. There were only troopers, and they fell without a problem. After dispatching the synthetics, I turned my attention toward the vehicle parked in front of the door. I turned and smiled mischevoudly towards my crewmates. The colonists were in control of a Mako class tank, nearly identical to the one we had on the Normandy. I climbed in and took the driver's seat. Ashley immediately jumped for the turret, which I fully expected. Liara was perfectly content to stay in one of the waiting seats.

The skyway was filled with geth armatures and rocket troopers. My driving skills were put to the test as we dodged rocket after rocket. Ashley screamed with victory after the last armature in sight fell, which caused Liara to flinch and put her hands over her ears. I laughed at Ashley's enthusiasm, and continued along the path. As we entered the section connecting to the next bridge, we heard radio chatter.

"_...might still be alive...she's my daughter..."_

I tried my best to hail the source, but the transmission was far too damaged to pinpoint the source accurately. I gave up the idea and fought across the bridge again. A couple more random transmissions went through, but they made just as little sense as the first. We didn't get an answer to the location question until we fought our way to the end of the second bridge.

_"Hold on, we're getting an unknown vehicle signature. It's not the geth."_

There was a ramp leading down sticking out of the floor. The three of us disembarked and walked down, unsure of what we'd find.

There were a bunch of people that appeared to be in a similar situation as Zhu's Hope. A bunch of marines were fortified against the only entrance, with several civilians divided into several groups sitting or standing throughout the large room. There were two people directly in the center; a woman who looked very distraught and a middle aged man who looked like his scowl was permanent.

We approached them carefully, trying not to appear threatening enough to cause the militia here to turn on us. I noticed a woman sitting on a box leaning against a wall near the door, smoking a cigarette and studying me intensely. She smirked when she noticed I had seen her. I ignored her and approached the duo in the center of the room.

The woman began speaking first. "Oh, I'm glad to see someone else survived. I thought we were the only ones left."

"Zhu's Hope is still functioning," I responded. "Er, barely."

She looked hopeful at that news. "There's other people alive? This is great news. I told you we wouldn't be the only ones left, Jeong." She spat out the man's name with venom in her voice. I couldn't stop a chill from going down my spine.

The man's response was gruff and annoyed. "We can't help them, Juliana. You know we can't."

I stopped this conversation abruptly. I wasn't liking where this was going. "I need to get to Exo-Geni headquarters."

"It's just up the ramp and across the skyway," Juliana responded with barely contained hope. "You should be careful though, both the headquarters and the highway are filled with geth."

I nodded and turned. I took only one step when Juliana stopped me again. "Wait! One other thing. Lizbeth, my daughter. She's still in there. If you can look for her..?" She looked like she could burst into tears at any moment.

"Don't worry, Juliana," I told her with my most reassuring voice. "If she's there, I'll find her."

She nodded and I saw her eyes turn glassy. I turned back towards the entrance. The same woman I noticed before was still smirking, cigarette still between her fingers. I saw a glint in her eye that nearly gave me pause before she disappeared from view.

We climbed into the Mako and continued our path.

* * *

><p><strong>POV Garvil<strong>

I stepped out of the sleeping pod slowly, still blinking away the sleep. I took a second to regain my balance, then began walking towards the mess hall. Garrus was sitting at the table, alone, with a drink in his hand. I stopped for a second, surprised that anyone was still on the ship. Everyone was scheduled to be on Feros right now.

Garrus noticed me and waved me over. I could have sworn he was sitting there just waiting for me, but why would he be on the ship right now anyway?

"Let me tell you a story real quick, Garvil. It's one of the things that's quite common in C-Sec." Garrus was much more serious, much different from his usual half-sarcastic manner when talking to me. "Roughly three years ago, a human woman stumbled up to me in tears. Not simply tears, severe trauma tears. It wasn't uncommon to see people distrought on the Citadel, but the reason was much more gut wrenching than the usual. It took me at least ten minutes to get her to calm down enough to get her to even talk legibly through her tears."

Garrus sighed and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. Obviously it wasn't a story he liked remembering. "She told me that she saw a turian's body in an alleyway nearby. I asked her to show me, and she adamantly refused. Whatever was in that alleyway, she was not willing to see it again."

I nodded. Anyone that distrought over seeing something would probably be seeing it regardless for years.

"I followed her directions and found the turian she was talking about. I saw immediately why the woman was having trouble describing it. You could say that it was worse than if you shot a rocket into a volus' suit." I shuddered. Volus had their suits for two reasons: to breathe and to simulate their homeworld's pressure. The pressure on their homeworld is several times more harsh than any other currently inhabited planet. The suit keeps their skin from essentially expanding too rapidly to maintain its shape. Basically, an explosion.

Garrus continued his story. "Despite the blood, his body and uniform were fairly intact. I'm not going to tell you what I found when I inspected him closer, but know that it's burned into my head forever."

I leaned back and exhaled. "Why are you telling me this, Garrus?"

"Simple, Marcus," he responded. He was looking directly into my eyes, his own staring with a deadly serious gaze. "That turian was a man who was investigating a lead in that section. He was helping to investigate a series of brutal murders. Marcus, I was the one who approved that mission. I lived with the guilt of sending a man to an incredibly painful death. I took a week off just to recover from that. Afterwards, I pushed it aside and went back to work as usual."

He suddenly stood up, the chair sliding loudly behind him. The act made me jump, which was apparantly what he was hoping would happen. "Shit happens. We get it. No one on this ship's stupid, Marcus. Everyone's moved on from Therum, and now it's your turn. When you're ready to move on and do something on this ship, see me in the armory. Your weapons are getting outdated."

Garrus started walking away, leaving his drink beind. I suddenly got an idea. "Hey Garrus!" He turned around, his mandibles twitching. Smiling, I activated my biotics and threw he drink to him. The effort made my nerves throb, but the pain was bearable. Somehow, it felt good as well. I stood up and hugged him. He returned it warmly.

"Thanks Garrus."

"Any time. After all, who else is there to talk to but Wrex?"

I laughed and followed him up the stairs to the elevator. I had almost forgotten the feeling, and a warmth spread through my body. The depression had lifted.

Garrus helped me with my weapon mods. My shotgun had been equipped with a modified barrel to increase the velocity of the bullets, as well as an extra heat sink compartment. These upgrades allowed me to do more damage and fire more shots before it overheated. Garrus showed me a simple way to increase the effectiveness of the heat sink compartment without making the compartment bigger, while also changing the barrel to make the change possible. The compartment would absorb all the heat, but a simple switch would activate and transfer some of that heat to the sides of the gun in front of the block of metal present in every gun. Normally, this would cause the gun to overheat faster, since the barrel has a failsafe in place to not allow the gun to fire if the barrel gets too hot. If this happens, it takes over four times as long as normal to be able to use the gun again. The change to the barrel was a razor thin titanium plating between the barrel itself and the heat compartment, preventing only enough heat to prevent that failsafe from occuring.

It was an ingenius mod, allowing me to fire roughly three more shots before overheating. The extra heat would also cause the bullets to shred even more, causing more damage.

I smiled at my shotgun, impressed with the new modifications.

I pulled out my assault rifle and frowned at how dirty it was. I immediately began polishing it delicately, not wanting to get extra fingerprints on it. I sighed and smiled again. _Turians have been given a bad rep in the Alliance. Garrus has proved them wrong in just the short amount of time I've known him._

Garrus was polishing his sniper rifle. I swear Garrus idolized that thing like he would his own child.

"So, Garrus. Sniper Rifle your favorite?"

He laughed and admired it. "Absolutely. I've had some good times with this thing. I can hit things 200 meters away given only a single second to aim, with a 95% hit rate."

I whistled. No one in the Alliance was THAT good with one. "I bet you don't use it much in C-Sec."

He sighed and placed his sniper rifle gently back inside his locker. "I practiced daily to keep my skills sharp. It comes in handy sometimes. Turians are the military branch of the council, Marcus. We're naturally good at anything that can put holes in people."

I put my assault rifle back in my own locker and closed it. "The Alliance seems to be headed down that path. Ever since the first contact war with your species, we've been increasing our military size substantially each year. It's almost unsettling."

He laughed and put his hand on my shoulder. "Humans will never be as extreme as us about it. Your strength is always in your adaptability. The only races I'd consider your rivals are the Krogan and the Quarians. Even then, the Krogan are one dimensional in their views, and the Quarians can't even leave their suits. If there's anything your race hasn't done yet, I doubt it will remain that way in ten years."

"The council doesn't trust us enough to do whatever those are yet."

Garrus sat down on a nearby stool, suddenly serious. "Shepard's changing that opinion, and changing it fast. There aren't many people with the same spark he does, Marcus. When I see him stand with authority, I feel like I could go directly into hell and he'd find a way to get me out alive." I nodded. I hadn't realized it, but Shepard's words to me in the hospital spoke of saying what I had needed to hear. I thought he had been simply lecturing me out of anger, but now I recognized it for what it was.

My thoughts were disturbed by Joker over the intercom. "Um, Garrus? Not to interrupt your chat or anything, but the colonists are scratching the paint. I might need you up here to stop them from spraying graffiti all over my nice clean walls if they get the idea."

I facepalmed at Joker's terrible jokes. He seemed to be full of them. I looked up to see Garrus grab his sniper rifle. I sincerely hoped he had no intentions of using it. He was looking down at me expectantly. I stood up and grabbed my assault rifle.

Garrus smiled widely, and we slapped our right hands. I entered the elevator after the turian, finally proud of my place on this ship.

* * *

><p><strong>POV Shepard<strong>

I stepped back towards the Mako. Liara, Ashley, and Lizbeth Baynahm were close behind. We had met Lizbeth, Juliana's daughter, shortly upon entering the facility. She was one of the scientists of Exo-Geni, and the one who gave us our first clue about the Thorian. It was a creature being studied by Exo-Geni for its mind control properties. It was beneath Zhu's Hope, and I had the feeling that it was the reason the geth were here. We had to detach the geth ship from the headquarters tower before we could leave, however, and we found some very interesting information on the way. We found its location in one of the working VI terminals. We also found heavily encrypted records from some of the data left by the geth. The communications were also cut off due to the barriers, but we found out that the I made a mental note to have Tali research into it later.

We reentered the Mako and continued through the skyway back the way we came. Unsurprisingly, the bridges were filled with geth yet again. We fought methodically through the machines, and returned down the giant ramp to where we found the Exo-Geni outpost. We heard yells from Juliana and Jeong, even from our outside location. Lizbeth gasped sharply when she heard her mother's voice and yelled for me to stop the Mako. She didn't even wait for me to completely stop before climbing out and sprinting down the ramp. It was all we could do to follow as fast as we could.

Lizbeth was hiding behind a box next to the entrance. Jeong was arguing with Juliana. Both of them looked incredibly pissed off. I looked around and saw the woman leaning against the wall, still smoking a cigarette. She was looking at the two arguing scientists with a bored look.

Lizbeth lost it when Jeong suddenly pulled out a pistol, pointing it at Juliana's face. She screamed, "Get away from her!" and left her hiding space. She only got three steps before two of the militiamen grabbed her and kept her in place.

Jeong turned his pistol towards where we were hiding in fear. "C-Come out. All of you!"

I sighed inwardly and stood up, Liara and Ashley following my lead. I walked past the militia and directly towards Jeong.

"That's close enough. I knew it was too much to hope that the geth would kill you."

I rose an eyebrow. "What exactly is going on here?"

Jeong gave an exasperated sigh and lowered his pistol. "Communications are back up. Exo-Geni wants this place purged. I'm in an awkward position, Shepard."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "We'll deal with the Thorian. Afterwards, you can help bring this colony back online."

Jeong's eyes grew wide as he took a step back. "Exo-Geni would have my head! I can't allow that. I..." He stopped and raised his pistol, taking aim for my head. I instinctually grabbed my pistol as well and aimed. I heard my squadmates do the same. Jeong started shaking. "I can't allow any evidence of what happened here to leave the planet. I'm sorry, Shepard."

Before any of us could shoot, Jeong dropped his pistol and grabbed his side with his arm. He stood for a second, then collapsed roughly on the floor. Juliana and Lizbeth stared at his body, shocked. I turned towards the source and saw the woman take a drag from her cigarette, calmly looking at us with her pistol still outstretched in her hand. She finished her drag, blew out smoke, and smirked. The woman pushed herself off the box and walked towards us casually.

She stopped before us and glanced down at the body. "Never liked the son of a bitch. So, you're Shepard?" I nodded reluctantly. She laughed and took another drag. "Name's Jentha. Maria Jentha. I lead the alliance garrison sent to protect the colonists on this planet. Don't mean jack shit after the attacks."

I wasn't sure what to say. Jentha sure was blunt. I didn't get a chance to continue, as she continued almost immediately. "I've heard about you, first human spectre and all that. You look like you can get things done. I like that. When you're done here, I'm interested in tagging along, seeing what you're made of." She chuckled. I was speechless. I was definitely not expecting an offer like this from what looked like a mercenary. I was having enough trouble believing she was Alliance.

I shook my head. "I don't know, Jentha. You rub me the wrong way."

She smiled mischevously. "I get things done, Shepard. I know enough about spectres to know that they have among the most important and secret jobs in the galaxy. You need people like me to make sure you can finish whatever it is you're doing."

I turned around, facing away from Jentha. "I'm going to go see the thorian for myself."

"Wait!" Juliana was unwilling to let me go quite yet. "The colonists. They're under its control, yes?" She was whispering in sadness. I nodded. Joker had sent me a transmission after the geth ship fell about colonists... scratching the paint? "There might be a way to take care of them without killing them. When the thorian controls a subject, their nervous system is more sensitive. It was one of the few things we figured out before the geth attacked. Your grenades. If you added a minor nerve gas to them, it should cause the colonists to become paralyzed, long enough for you to deal with the thorian. It's not weapons grade, so it shouldn't affect anyone else."

I accepted the mod and quickly added it to my grenades. Juliana suddenly engulfed me in a hug which only lasted for a second. I was taken aback, but I nodded afterwards and left towards the Mako. In curiousity, I looked back towards Liara. Sure enough, she was staring back at Juliana with hostility. I broke out a grin at the sight. Liara was different than anyone else I had ever met, and I had a good feeling she felt the same way. This was just another hint to add to the pile.

Returning to the Mako, we continued across the skyway. It was time for us to find out what this thorian truly looked like.


	8. Thorian and a New Squadmate

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect and its characters. The only thing I can take credit for is the OC's and changes to the plot.**

**POV Garvil**

The pounding had stopped for a minute before Garrus and I decided to peek out of the Normandy. The landing pad was entirely deserted. Whatever had been attacking us just a few minutes ago in force was completely gone. Joker had said the colonists were behind the "attack", but that explanation didn't make any sense. If we're here to save them from the geth, why would they attack us?

Garrus took the lead as we headed towards the colony. Garrus had already been there, so he knew the way. We saw no one until we reached the colony. When we did, we found only one colonist standing, along with Shepard, Liara, and Ashley. The man pointed his pistol at Shepard, but slowly dragged his pistol hand away with his other hand. With a single shot, he fell roughly to the dirt, a hole in his head.

Shepard noticed us and ran towards where we were standing, near the head of the colony. "Garrus? Garvil? Weren't you guys on the ship?"

Garrus responded before I could. "According to Joker, the colonists were trying to break into the Normandy. We decided to investigate after we heard the banging stop."

Shepard nodded, then turned to me, raising an eyebrow. He gave me a disapproving look. "Aren't you supposed to be resting your nerves?"

I smiled in response. "I'm fine, Commander. No biotics from me, and I won't go all hero mode like last time. I promise."

Shepard sighed and shook his head. Liara gave me a worried look, but Ashley gave me a fierce glare. _Doesn't this girl ever smile or laugh? Why does she always have to be so livid all the time?_

"Wait," Garrus said, looking over his shoulder back towards where we came. His voice had jarred me out of my thoughts. "Do you hear that?"

I listened for a moment, and I heard a soft clang. Suddenly, one of the shed's doors opened. Kaidan stumbled out and crashed onto the ground, breathing heavily. Wrex and Tali stepped out after him. I walked up to Kaidan and offered my hand. He gave me a look of surprise, as if he hadn't expected me here, then grabbed it and let me help him up. Afterwards, he turned back to Shepard.

"Y-You do not want to be alone in a small room with a Krogan, especially with no ventilation. Yech."

Wrex crossed his arms menacingly as the rest of us laughed. Kaidan's face became flushed, but he dropped the subject. Shepard walked back to the crane controls and activated it. Suddenly, one of the sheds lifted, revealing a stairway. Garrus gave an impressed whistle as we approached. Shepard turned and motioned for us to follow. The rest of us stayed close as we descended, making sure not to get too close in case someone tripped.

Shepard hesitated when he reached the bottom. I was towards the back, so I couldn't see what was going on through all the bodies in between us, but I soon saw him slowly walk forward as the rest of us reached the bottom of the stairway. I realized the source of the hesistation soon enough. A giant bug, _no, a plant... a... what the hell is this thing?_

Suddenly, the tentacles in front of the creature began to twitch, more and more violently each time. With a disgusting noise that made me want to vomit, a green asari appeared from its "mouth". She took two steps forward and looked at us threateningly.

"You intrude upon the Thorian's rest." _Thorian?_ "You are sensed only as meat, to be devoured in your final resting spot. Turn back, or find yourself lost to the world."

Shepard scoffed in return. "We're not afraid of an overgrown bug. Your mind control won't take effect before we take you down." _Mind control? So Joker WAS right about the colonists..._

The asari didn't even change expression. "Our final warning was not heeded. Feel the wrath of the Thorian!" With that, she suddenly glowed in biotics. Shepard ran up and punched her square in the face. I flinched as the asari's head was forced backward, causing her to lose her balance and fall into the chasm behind her.

Shepard looked around the large room where the Thorian was housed. To me, it looked like the giant bug... plant... thing was taking up the entire center of it, suspended in midair by several tentacles grabbing the walls at various levels. Shepard noticed the same thing, as he turned and told us, "Split up and take out these tentacles. If we destroy enough of them, this thing should fall into the chasm." He flinched, and immediately I found the source. I felt something in my head, comparible to a door slamming in your ears. I shook my head and ran off in one direction without waiting for Shepard to finish his orders. I saw what looked like charred human remains, except brown. I wrinkled my nose and grabbed my shotgun to test the upgrades. The monster stumbled forward, one of its legs being blown clean off. I looked at my shotgun in wonder, impressed at its power.

I felt myself being pulled back and saw Garrus in front of me, shooting down another pair of the same monsters that had been rushing towards me. Liara stood beside him, using her biotics to keep them away from us. I facepalmed in my head at my stupidity. I had been so impressed with my shotgun that I wasn't using it. I stood up from where I had fallen roughly and sniped another creeper with my shotgun. This thing really DID pack a good punch.

We progressed through the various rooms, destroying the creepers as we went along. We found the same asari soon after, but we plugged her full of holes without trouble. I was surprised to see her again only two rooms later.

We had just killed her again when I heard the most earsplitting roar I ever had the misfortune to have go through my Thorian flailed, but stayed firm. We were coming up to one of its tentacles. The asari again was present in the tentacle room, giving the same hateful smirk as she darted around us. Liara threw her off the platform and she made a disgusting sounding plop when she hit the Thorian before falling into the abyss. Garrus coughed after she disappeared from view.

"Er, Liara. Was that necessary?"

Liara smiled in response. "Probably not, but it felt good."

The Thorian's screams started again, and only compounded when I saw the tentacle recede from the wall in front of our eyes. I looked towards one of the other sides to see Wrex pumping his shotgun's shells into yet another tentacle. With a final shot, the Thorian screamed more loudly than it had before. The rest of the tentacles receded from the wall, unable to support the body's weight any longer. We watched, far back from the edge in case it flailed us off the edge. With a final crash as the Thorian's body slammed into one of the upper floors, the Thorian fell beyond view.

I walked towards the edge, looking up and around. Finding Shepard, we began to walk up various stairways and through rooms filled with dead thorian creepers. Obviously, they no longer were a threat with the Thorian dead.

Shepard was in front of what looked like a giant scab connected to the wall, pulsating. I felt bile rise up in my throat. _I really, really don't want that image stuck in my head._

The 'scab' burst open to reveal the same Asari that had been fighting us throughout the giant room, only with blue skin this time. I blinked in surprise as she stood up.

"Thank you for freeing me from the Thorian, human." Shepard nodded. "You were the one Saren spoke about. The human with the beacon's secrets." Shepard nodded again.

The asari stumbled backwards, as if she was exhausted. "I see. My name is Shiala. You came here just in time."

Shepard leaned his head forward, as if in thought. "Why are you here as the Thorian's slave?"

The Asari thought a moment before responding. "I was with Matriarch Benezia when she joined Saren. Initially, her thought process was to attempt to guide him back to the right path. However, Saren's will is stronger than she had anticipated. Instead of guiding him, she joined him. Because of my proximity, I eventually was swayed as well. Saren found out about this creature fairly recently, and offered me as a link between him and the Thorian."

Shepard interrupted her at that point. "Why would he need that?"

"The Thorian has been around for a long time," she responded. "It was around when the protheans walked the planet. Its mind control abilities have a secondary function: with enough of a certain species bent to its will, it gains access to their thought processes, the way they think. It did this with the protheans, and Saren was very interested in accessing that information. I became part of the Thorian, walled in my own mind as I acted outside of my will. Through me, the Thorian gave Saren the Cipher."

"The Cipher?"

She nodded. "You accessed a prothean beacon, but the images are unclear, confusing. You can't make sense of them because the beacons are made for a prothean mind. The Cipher is simply the Thorian's accumulation of the prothean brain processes gained through its mind control. It's the acculation of what it means to truly be a prothean. With it, you can make sense of the beacon's message. I can give the Cipher to you, as I did Saren."

Shepard nodded and stepped forward. "I'm ready. Do it."

Shiala took the last step forward needed to be directly in front of Shepard. "Relax, Commander. Slow, deep breaths. Let go of your physical shell; reach out to grasp the threads that bind us, one to another. Every action sends ripples throughout the galaxy. Each mind must touch another to live. Each emotion must mark another's spirit." She was now staring directly into Shepard's eyes. "We are all connected, every living being united in a single glorious existence. Open yourself to the universe, Commander. Embrace Eternity!"

With the last statement, the asari's eyes turned black. Shepard's body twitched, but remained still otherwise. After several seconds, the asari's eyes turned back to normal as she stumbled backwards. She barely retained her balance. Shepard simply held a hand up to his head, as if he had a headache.

Kaidan walked up and put his hand on Shepard's shoulder. "You ok, Commander?"

Shepard suddenly noticed that he was not alone. After a slight hesitation, he nodded. "I'm not sure what I saw. The images still didn't make any sense."

Shiala had regained her balance at this point. "You were given a great gift, Commander. The existance of an entire species. Your mind will have to process this information, and it will take time. After your mind understands the Cipher, the vision from the beacon should become clear."

Shepard nodded his trust in the asari's words. "What about you? What are you planning on doing now that this is all over?"

Shiala answered immediately. "If you allow it, I'd like to stay with the colonists. I played a part in their suffering, and I'd like to make amends."

Shepard smiled. "The colonists have had enough problems here. If you can help them get back on their feet, I'm sure they'd appreciate it."

Shiala simply gave a brief nod. "Thank you, Commander. May fortune smile upon you."

The walk back up to the surface was uneventful. Shepard led the way, although he stumbled now and again due to his new knowledge. As we funneled back into Zhu's Hope, I noticed that there were several new faces in the camp, ones I didn't see unconscious when I first came here.

One of the women smiled when she noticed us, and approached us gleefully. "You did it, Commander! The colony has been saved! We're not exactly in a great spot, but we'll be able to recover. Thank you for all you've done."

Shepard shook the woman's hand. "Glad to help, Lizbeth. Keep everyone safe."

Despite the problems the colonists would be having getting the colony up and running again, they appeared to be ecstatic. The Thorian's mind control must have been that painful to have. I remembered my own brain being assaulted when we first met the thing. I shuddered at the thought, not wanting to repeat the experience.

We walked back to the ship, glad we were finished with another of our leads. This planet was too bleak for my tastes.

We stopped when we saw someone in front of our ship. It was an arrogant looking woman, smoking a cigarette as she sat on one of the boxes scattered across the path.

"You considered my offer, Shepard? The colony don't need me anymore, and you need people who get things done."

Shepard sighed. "I have to ask you, Jentha. Why?"

The woman gave an amused laugh before inhaling from the cigarette again. Exhaling the smoke, she replied, "I haven't had any fun assignments in years. You're a council spectre. That's equivalent to saying that you're one of the most interesting people in the galaxy."

Shepard sighed again, this time in defeat. "If you wish. Get whatever you need and meet us in the briefing room."

She gave that amused smile again. I had a very bad feeling about this woman. Her gaze gave the impression that she didn't care who lived or died, as long as she got what she wanted. She gave me a sideways look, inspecting me as she passed. The smile never changed, but it was a smile without any happiness behind it. _What is Shepard thinking..?_

**POV Shepard**

The debriefing was fairly uneventful. Liara offered shortly through to meld with my mind as well, since her expertise on the thorians could help me process the Cipher more quickly. I agreed readily, but prepared my mind. As I felt her probe my mind, I pushed my feelings for her to the forefront. As the Cipher shifted in the background of my mind, all I could feel was a split second of happiness. As soon as the melding began, it ended. I took a second to regain my footing, and saw that Liara was doing the same. I noticed that she has a small grin on her face, difficult to see if you weren't specifically looking for it. She shyly looked towards the ground for a moment, then sat back down. I had a feeling that she was having trouble finding the words she was going to say.

"The... The beacon you found on Eden Prime must have been badly damaged, Commander. I was able to make sense of the message, but large sections are missing. If you were able to find the missing sections, then I might be able to piece together the message in its entirety."

I sighed inside my head. _Where would we be able to find a second beacon?_

I turned to Tali. "We found information from the geth in Exo-Geni headquarters. Can you crack it and see what it says?" She almost seemed offended at the question. I had a feeling that she knew a lot about geth encryption codes.

I stepped back to the terminal and turned back around. "We've had a long day. Go and get some rest." Jentha smirked at me a moment before following everyone's lead in standing up. _Did I make the right decision letting her join the squad? She seems like she could be trouble if she wanted to._

It was too late to go back on my decision, as we were already outside of orbit. I turned towards the terminal when Joker contacted me over the intercom. "Commander, the council are on hold. Want me to patch them through?"

"Do it Joker."

The council's holograms popped up in front of me. The Turian Councilor started the conversation this time.

"You killed the Thorian? Do you have any idea what we could have learned if you had only incapacitated it?"

The Salarian councilor cut him off here, as if he was just as annoyed as I was by the turian. "The Commander has done what he deemed best for the situation. The loss of the Thorian is unfortunate, but I assume you had no other choice." I nodded at him, which caused the Turian to scoff.

The Asari jumped in to defuse the situation. "We have another lead Commander. One of our scouting units was sent to investigate a planet in the Sentry Omega cluster. We recieved only a single update, which turned out to be simply static."

"We assume the message they were trying to send through is important," continued the Salarian from where the Asari had left off. "It was sent through comm channels reserved for mission critical information."

I nodded in understanding. "Send me the coordinates. I'll figure out what happened to your scouts."

The Asari Councilor smiled. "We'll await your next report, Commander. Good luck."

With that, the three holograms vanished. I stretched and turned off the terminal. I left the room and began to think about the images in my head. I walked as I thought, and only snapped out of it when I found myself in front of the door where Liara usually worked. I looked around the medical bay to see Selwyn giving me a strange look. I smiled reassurance and walked into Liara's workplace, hoping for a chat.

She turned and smiled widely when she saw who it was. Standing up, she asked me with hope clear in her voice, "When we melded, was what I felt real?"

I walked up to where she stood, my smile being the only answer.

Somehow, her grin grew even wider. With unhidden happiness, she ran up and hugged me close. I returned the hug, truly happy for this one moment.

My thoughts jumped towards Saren and the Conduit for a moment. With a sharp exhale, I pushed he thoughts from my mind. While I had a job to do, I was content for the moment simply holding the woman in my arms.


	9. The Geth Incursion

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect and its characters. Any OC's and changes in the plot are my own.**

* * *

><p><strong>POV Shepard<strong>

I walked into the elevator and pressed the button to go down to the engineering deck. Tali had just sent me a message to come see her about the data we had found on Feros.

Nodding at Ashley, Garrus, and Wrex, I passed behind the opposite wall to the drive core. Adams was working on the opposite terminal to Tali, but she was leaning against it facing where I had come from.

"Shepard... the data you found." She sounded panicked. I walked up while she regained her composure. "The geth are planning an invasion."

I raised an eyebrow. "This is a surprise?"

She nodded, then looked to the ground. "Like I said the day we met, I had been tracking the geth in the veil. When I detached the memory core, the audio banks wasn't the only thing I managed to recover. I found a section of the military force they had. Shepard, the amount of geth was far less than I had imagined."

I nodded in understanding. "But they're planning an invasion?"

She started shaking. "Either the data I found was fake, or the geth found a way to create new units in a more efficient way. The geth are able to create new units, but right now it takes weeks for a single unit to be added roughly per three dozen existing units. It would take decades to be able to get enough units to be able to launch a small invasion. This data suggests that the geth will launch their invasion in one month. Shepard, I..." She broke down in front of me. Adams, who had been working in the opposite terminal, began to stare in sympathy. I brought Tali into a hug.

"Shepard, there's no telling what will happen if a full scale invasion happens. Even if the invasion is easily repelled, my people will be blamed; we might never be able to enter council space again. But if the invasion is successful..." She shook again.

I decided to change the subject at that point. "Is there a way to stop them before it happens?"

She let me go and nodded, turning back to the console. Her voice still betrayed her when she talked again, however. "The Armstrong Nebula. According to this data, there's several bases there critical to their invasion plans. If we take them out, then they won't have a staging ground for their assaults."

I nodded, then put my hand up to my ear. "Joker, change of plans. We're going to the Armstrong Nebula."

"Uh, sure thing Commander."

Tali leaned forward again. "Thank you Shepard. This means a lot to me."

"Let me know if you find anything else from that data, Tali." I turned and walked back to the elevator. The ride up was uneventful, although I was curious as to what we would find in the nebula. I stretched as the elevator opened at the top floor. To my surprise, Garvil was on the other side. This was the first time I'd actually remembered seeing him since we finished our mission on Feros nearly a week ago.

"Um, hey Commander." He saluted. I saluted back and exited the elevator, walking towards the mess hall. He joined my side as we walked down the stairs. "Commander, I'd like to be on the active roster again."

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and raised an eyebrow. "Can you promise never to endanger the mission again?"

He nodded. "I'm fine now, Commander. I won't endanger the squad."

I smiled, patting him on the shoulder. "I'll readd you before our next mission. I have to say, it's good seeing you not moping around."

He laughed as we began walking towards the the food cupboards. "Garrus helped. He's my best friend on this ship."

I kept my grin as we each pulled out a meal's worth of rations. "I wouldn't have expected a turian to act the way he does, based on what the others have been like towards us." I placed my can in the portable heater and watched it turn.

Garvil leaned against the wall before his response. "Garrus is different. We've been talking a lot since the mission began. He's just as dedicated to stopping Saren as you are." He appeared to be stuck in his thoughts, but gave a small smile towards a wall when he finished. I walked towards one of the mess hall tables and sat down. Garvil didn't notice for a moment, but snapped out of it and joined me, sitting across the table. The cooker was glowing with his meal.

He appeared stuck in his thoughts for a moment as I took the first bite. _Blech, none of these are ever any good. _Suddenly, he spoke. "Commander. I have a quick question."

"Shoot."

He sighed, as if it wasn't a question he wanted to ask. "I'm curious, Commander. When I attacked the krogan on Therum, why did you go so far out of your way to bring me to the Citadel, and why were you so ready to accept me back on the ship?"

I chuckled before responding. "The first one is easy, Marcus. I do everything in my power to make sure everyone under my command gets out alive. I'm not about to let someone in my squad die. The second question is only slightly more difficult." I took another bite before continuing, trying to give myself time to figure out how to say what I was going to say. I swallowed when I came to a conclusion. "You're not simply average. I've had high hopes for you when you first came aboard, and I'm not willing to give up on you yet."

He nodded and smiled as the cooker beeped behind us. He stood up and grabbed his meal before rejoining me at the table. His reaction to his first bite was similar to my own. After he flinched, he responded back to me with, "I've always been expected to be perfect at what I do. My father was never satisfied with anything less than a 100% in school, and I had anxiety attacks several times because of the stress." He sighed, as if he didn't really want to think about it. "When I became a biotic, I was never part of the group. Usually people begin biotics training when they're preteens. I was an adult, and the kids thought I was too old to be part of them. The N7 program... well, you know about that."

I smiled knowingly. He smiled back before continuing. "I went from ship to ship, doing menial assignments the Alliance would usually send to the grunts. I never understood why, considering what I was trained to do. In every single ship, I was given weird looks and never included in anything. The Demeter was the first ship that ever was any different. Captain Reynolds was the first person who seemed truly happy to find out I was going to be in his crew. Every other captain hated me because of the threat I'd do my job too well and be promoted on the spot to being captain of their ship. Reynolds is the first actual friend I've ever had. The team I was in charge of on his ship was the first that didn't talk behind my back."

He sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. "And... they were the first team I've ever lost. The first team I was happy to serve with, dead. One of them died in front of my eyes. Corporal Wellings. I can't forget the look he gave me before he died. He..." I saw a tear run down his cheek.

I leaned foward and put my hand on his. "What happened on that mission? How did they die?"

"We were doing that mission against one of Cerberus' research facilities. They had been researching the Rachni there, doing what looks like cloning them." He shuddered. "We had been doing a mission with another ground team from the Alliance. The leader of that team betrayed us. I had left two of my squadmates to guard the door to the head researcher's office while Wellings and I confronted him. Wellings died when turrets hidden in his plants were activated, and the other commander killed the last two. I had to think fast to get out of that situation alive."

I sighed. "What level of priority was this mission?"

"High."

I sighed again. "What's the chance of one of the people in charge of the ground team being a traitor on a high priority mission? That chance is so close to zero percent, that no one could have predicted it would happen. It's not your fault for not noticing. As for Wellings, that's not your fault either. It was simply a mission that went bad. It happens, and it wasn't because of what you did."

We heard footsteps on the stairs and both turned. Jentha appeared with a cigarette between her lips. She smirked and walked towards us. "What do we have here, a soldier crying?" She was referencing to the tear lines down Garvil's face. "Man up, we got a mission to do. Say, Commander, when we doing our next mission?"

I glared at her. "When we get there, Lieutenant. Also, this is my ship. Any time you insult my crew, you answer directly to me. Understood?" I wasn't about to let her talk shit to anyone on my ship.

She laughed. "I understand, Commander. Hit me up when you're going on your next mission, I'm getting restless over here."

"Go talk to Wrex. He's right up your alley." I was getting annoyed by her, fast.

She laughed again, this time even harder, as if I had said a good joke. "The krogan? He's just like the rest of the aliens, useless."

I stood up. Garvil jumped, staring at me in shock. I walked up to the smirking woman and put my finger directly in her face. "This is not the Alliance, missy. I'm a council spectre, and that means I choose who I want on this ship, human or not. If you don't like it, you can piss off next time we stop for supplies. If you're lucky, that won't be Tuchanka."

The outburst surprised Jentha, but that was hidden back in her arrogant smile in a split second. "Sure thing, sir." With that, she turned and walked back to the CIC, taking a drag from her cigarette. Garrus appeared before she reached the stairs, and she bumped roughly into him before dropping out of sight. He stared back towards her in shock, then slowly turned and continued walking towards the food cupboard. After grabbing one of the turian cans and heating it up, he sat next to Garvil. At that point, I had already sat back down.

Garrus' mandibles twitched a couple times before asking, "What's up with her? I knew people on the ship would be wary of serving with a turian, but I didn't expect outright hostility."

I shrugged and took the last bite from my meal. "She's trouble, Garrus. Don't mind her. I don't think anyone on the ship actually likes her."

"Why is she here, then?"

I sighed. "I looked through her dossier. She wasn't kidding when she said she gets things done. She... she was the one behind the bloodbath of Torfan." I saw Garvil look up at me in shock.

"She was the one behind that?" He asked in disbelief. "She was the one who ordered most of her squad to die so that the slavers would be wiped out?" I nodded. Garvil stood up, leaving his half-eaten can of rations on the table. He appeared disgusted when he said, "I'm not hungry anymore." After that, he walked up the stairs.

Garrus opened his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. "Torfan." He appeared to be in thought. "I don't remember much about it, but I remember hearing about someone ordering hundreds of people to their deaths in order to kill every single batarian slaver, including the ones who surrendered."

I sighed deeply and nodded grimly. "It was so bad that the commanding officer, Major Kyle, requested a discharge. It was granted, and he ended up leading a biotic commune. Garrus, I'm not sure if she's worth the trouble, even if she's deathly good at getting the job done."

The turian responded through bites of his food. "It's your ship, Shepard. You're the one who makes the decisions. Whichever you choose, I'm sure it will be the correct one."

I smiled my thanks and stood up. "We'll be in the Armstrong Nebula soon, Garrus. Be ready."

Garrus laughed in response. "I'm always ready, Shepard. Just say the word."

I threw away my ration, as well as Marcus' half-eaten one, and walked towards the stairs. _I hope we can stop this invasion..._

* * *

><p><strong>POV Garvil<strong>

Two days later, I was walking into the briefing room to see everyone already there. Ashley, Kaidan, and Liara sat in one side of the room, while Tali, Wrex, and Garrus sat on the other. Jentha was leaning on the wall next to the door. She smirked at me when I walked it, giving me a rush of anger. I held it in and leaned against the other side of the door, crossing my arms.

Shepard smiled at me briefly before turning around. The Armstrong Cluster and its systems appeared on the screen.

"We're here to take out several geth bases in this cluster. We're headed for this one first." He tapped the terminal, and one of the systems enlarged to take up the whole screen. The Hong System. Shepard pointed to one planet in particular. "Casbin is our first stop. Let's get in quick and take that outpost out. Tali, are the bombs ready?" She nodded. "Good, you'll be coming with us. Jentha, you're coming as well. We'll drop in the Mako and take out the guards. After that's done, we'll plant the bomb and blow the outpost to hell. Dismissed."

Jentha gave me a mischevous smile as she exited the room, as if taunting me that she was the one chosen to go on the mission and not me. _What the hell is up with her?_

I waited until the majority of people left the room. Tali was the last except for Shepard. I stopped her before she could get through the door. She looked up at me taken aback.

"These outposts," I started quietly. "You found their location from the data you found on Feros?"

She nodded, her hands shaking. She was obviously very distraught about this mission. I smiled reassurance and added, "Give them hell for me Tali." She nodded again, avoiding my gaze this time. Shepard had noticed us talking at this point and was looking at me from the terminal. I waved and left the room after everyone else. I noticed Shepard raising an eyebrow at me before the door closed. I walked down to the medical bay for one of my usual checkups. Chakwas had insisted that I get my nerves tested every few days as a precaution.

"No complications, Marcus. From what it looks like, your biotics are safe to use as long as you don't go too far. It looks like there won't be any significant side effects except for your fingers and toes."

I nodded and stood up from where I had been sitting on the bed. Stretching, I walked out of the room and decided to go down to the engineering bay. I yawned as the elevator moved, closing my eyes as I leaned against one of the walls. I opened my eyes again when the door shifted, allowing me access to the lower level. I walked to my locker and was approached by Ashley.

"Marcus, can I talk to you for a minute?"

I nodded. "What's up, Ashley?"

She turned and gave Garrus a strange look before turning back to me. Garrus was applying a mod to his sniper rifle.

"I don't like having aliens on this ship," she told me quietly so the turian wouldn't hear.

I sighed in annoyance. "He's a friend, Ashley. Just because this is technically an Alliance ship doesn't mean it's strictly Alliance."

She looked down at her feet at my response. I didn't let that stop me. "Garrus helped me when no one else on the ship could. I've noticed the ship working better and better since we started, mostly due to Tali's work. I don't like Wrex either, but is a krogan battlemaster with centuries of experience. If there's anyone who knows how to fight, it's him. Face it Ashley. Like it or not, we'd have a much harder time without their skills."

She looked up at me again, an unreadable expression in her face. I could tell that this was not what she had wanted to hear.

"I... I see." With that, she returned to her workstation, back to polishing her pistol. her face remained unreadable. I sat down on one of the chairs strewn about the room and began polishing my own assault rifle. Wrex appeared in the elevator soon after, looking even more enraged than usual. Despite my better judgment, I walked up to him as he sat brooding in his usual spot towards one of the corners. He stared at my approach with his red eyes boring through me.

"Um, what's wrong Wrex?"

He growled in anger. "Why do you care, human?"

I raised my hands in nonaggression. "Obviously something has you on edge. If you're going to have a problem that could affect the mission, then it needs to be solved sooner than later."

Wrex continued growling, but said nothing. I stood there, waiting. Finally, he responded, "I am Wrex of clan Urdnot. We've had a set of family armor that was handed down through generations. When the rebellions happened, it was taken from my father. I've been searching for it for centuries, and I figured out who had it." He stared at the floor in seething anger. "Tonn Actus. I wish I killed that bastard the last time we met."

I stepped back. "Do you know where he is?"

He shook his head before looking up at me. "He has bases all over the galaxy. I'd go on a hunt through all of them, but he'd know what I'm looking for and get rid of it. I have to be sure where it is before I attack it." He hesitated. "When I do, I'm going to go get my family's armor back, alone or otherwise." The last part sounded like a threat.

I took another step back. "Talk to Shepard about it when you find out. He'll help you out."

Wrex's responding grunt gave the impression of finality. I shrugged and sat back down, returning to my assault rifle. I sighed to myself and stared at my gun. With the ground team still off the ship, there was not much to do. I grabbed my cloth and took the gun apart, cleaning the barrel.

* * *

><p>The mission ended with success, as did the next two. Garrus and Wrex had their shot with the Mako's guns, with Tali around to place the bombs. Ashley had the fourth base, which was the last of the known geth outposts in this cluster. After the outpost was destroyed, they figured out that none of them were the primary outpost. With some clever tracking on Tali's part, we discovered the location of the primary base of operations.<p>

I was chosen as the gunner for the final run, which I was grateful for. I was worried that Shepard didn't trust me enough on the field to bring me on any missions yet. I suited up in the armory, then climbed into the Mako with Shepard and Tali. She stared at me as I climbed into the turret spot, but I ignored it for the time being. Suddenly, the cargo hold's lower door opened, dropping us into the atmosphere of Solcrum, the largest moon of the blue gas giant Notanban. As with every planet and moon in this system, the atmosphere was far hotter than anything we were meant to handle. The mako had enough temperature modulating power to keep us safe inside, but our excursions outside of the tank would have to be short.

We moved towards the coordinates of the base, remaining alert. We passed over a mountain and immediately saw a bunch of guard towers and geth armatures defending what looked like a covered hole in the ground. I immediately began firing, keeping the pressure up on the forces as they struggled to figure out where the fire was coming from. When they found our location, the air became thick with rockets and the balls of energy armatures fired. Shepard kept us out of their way as I methodically riddled the armatures with bullets. After they fell, the rocket troopers stood no chance against the Mako's cannon.

We exited the Mako in front of the structure and entered it. We came out in a short hallway leading into a giant room. I checked the inside and saw a large amount of geth units, including several destroyers and even a prime. They were already aware that we had infiltrated the facility. I relayed this information to Shepard and Tali, and they nodded. This would be a tough mission...

I pulled out my assault rifle and began firing upon the destroyers advancing on my position. Shepard was doing the same, but Tali stayed behind cover fiddling with her omni-tool. I used biotic throw to send the nearest destroyer back, crashing in two of the other four and landing in a heap. Suddenly, I heard Tali exclaim, "Yes!" in success, and I saw one of the destroyers blow up. The other one standing stared at it, confused, but then blew up as well. The geth prime walked up to where the three destroyers were attempting to distangle themselves from each other and stomped over them, causing sparks to fly everywhere.

The geth prime looked towards where we were staring back at it, then spoke in its usual garbled language. After a second, it blew up.

The entire facility shook with the explosion, but we were all unharmed. Tali stood up and walked to where the prime had stood before the explosion. Shepard and I followed, still surprised that she had pulled that off. After a second, she turned to us. "Let's place this bomb and get out of here."

Shepard nodded, but I held up my hand. "Let's scout this place out first, see if we can find anything here."

I looked around, then followed the edge to make sure there weren't any doors or terminals. I found a door hidden behind a few large machines where geth stood in standby mode. I screamed out, "Hey guys! Over here!" and opened the door.

There was only a terminal inside. Tali entered the room as I opened the files, Shepard coming in afterwards.

I smiled. "Tali, I think you might have what you need for your pilgrimage right here." She froze for a minute, then ran up to the terminal. I stood to the side, allowing her to see what I had found.

She gasped in wonder. "This is information about the geth within the first few decades after we found them." She turned to Shepard. Her next request was nearly a plead. "Shepard, I need a copy of this. It could help my people understand the geth. If we're lucky, it could be just what we need to take our homeworld back."

Shepard raised an eyebrow and put a hand to his chin in thought. "If we give you the information, your pilgrimage will be over. You'll go back to the migrant fleet."

Tali shook her head. "That can wait. I'm with you until Saren's stopped, you have my promise."

Shepard thought for a second. "All right, Tali. Once we get back to the ship, make a copy and keep it for your pilgrimage. The original will go to the Alliance."

Tali looked visibly relieved. "Thank you Shepard." Afterwards, she turned towards me and hugged me again. "Thank you, Marcus. If you didn't stop us from blowing up the base right away-"

I cut her off. "My pleasure, Tali. I hope that data helps you."

She let go. I could have sworn I saw her smile through her suit. I couldn't help but smile back. Shepard walked towards the door and called back to us when he reached it. "We should leave. We don't want to meet geth reinforcements.

I nodded and led the way out of the base. With no further fights, we left the moon. Before the moon left our sights, an explosion could be seen on an edge of it, ensuring the facility would not be used again.

* * *

><p>The nine of us met in the briefing room an hour later. Shepard was again at the terminal, Jentha and I on either side of the door, and the other six in the chairs throughout the room.<p>

Shepard beamed at us. "What we have done here this week might have stopped a galactic incident. I've already sent the information off to Admiral Hackett, and we'll probably find out within a few days what would have happened had we not stopped the geth before their invasion began. You all should be proud of what you have achieved today."

I looked at Tali at that point. She was standing straight, a sight that I hadn't ever seen before. She looked like she was finally accepting that she was an important part of the crew. I smiled at the thought. Shepard and Garrus might be my best friends, but Tali was something entirely different. I was beginning to notice that I was seeing her as more of a sister than a crewmate.

Shepard interrupted my thoughts with the next part of his speech. "We're not done yet. We still have a job to do, and this was only a minor detour. We're stopping for supplies on the Citadel. Get what you need fast, since we might not have much time."

I zoned out of the rest of Shepard's speech. I hadn't slept in nearly 20 hours, and it was beginning to show. I only noticed everyone was leaving when I felt Wrex's footsteps to my side. I immediately went to sleep, waking up when we reached the Citadel.

I walked with Kaidan through the market district. While I liked Shepard and Garrus more, Kaidan was a cool guy to talk to. I found out he had been trained at Gagarin Station, the station I was only at for a day before being transferred out. His implant was old, giving him migraines and making it difficult for him to fight at times. I related to him easily, my nerve damage being a constant threat to my biotics.

I ended up replacing my Diamondback II assault rifle for a Diamondback IV. Hahne-Kedar was known for thinking outside the box with its products, and I was greatly impressed with everything they made. I transferred my modules to the new weapon, then returned to the ship.

I found Shepard in front of the galaxy map, plotting out next course. I waited behind him, and was rewarded with him finally turning and walking down the ramp.

"What's up Marcus?" He asked.

"Is Noveria our next stop sir?" I was curious, and couldn't help asking. We took one detour, and I wasn't sure if we were taking another before continuing our mission.

Shepard laughed. "The council gave me another lead. A salarian task force group went dark while investigating some ties to Saren. The council believes there might be information there that could be a great help against him."

I raised an eyebrow. "Where is this location, sir?"

He exhaled, then gave a slight smile. "Virmire."


	10. Sacrifice

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect and its characters. All I own is the OC's and changes in the plot.**

* * *

><p><strong>POV Garvil<strong>

I took another bite of the bland rations. It never tasted any better, no matter how long I had been eating it. Tali, the one person besides Wrex least likely to be on this half of the ship, was sitting across from me with her flavored paste tube. We had gotten close during our time on the ship, which surprised me when I ended up thinking about it. She became noticeably happier after the conclusion of the geth incursion, and she had made it plain she liked my company as well.

Our silent meal was interrupted by Ashley, who walked over and sat down next to me. I raised an eyebrow. "Anything I can do for you Ashley?"

She looked down before responding. "Yeah... Look, Marcus. I've been thinking about what you told me a couple weeks ago. I..."

I held my hand up in response. I glanced over at Tali before responding. "No need to say any more, Ashley. Aliens are people too. The earlier everyone is on board with this, the better."

Ashley nodded and turned to Tali, who just looked at her silently. "I'm sorry, Tali. You're a real asset to the team."

Tali nodded. "That means a lot coming from you." Ashley stood up awkwardly and coughed into her fist before leaving in a speed walk. Tali returned her gaze to me. "What did you say to get Ashley to accept us on the ship? Even Shepard couldn't manage it."

I sighed. "She began the conversation, obviously expecting me to agree with her. She got a little surprise."

Tali laughed. "I appreciate it. Only you and Shepard have had any interest in my people. Most people are content to simply dismiss us as inferior, only useful for our technical skills. We're often either simply denied from working in most places we go to, or we're picked up for cheap labor. That's assuming we're allowed on at all."

I folded my hands together in front of me, nodding. "You've been a great help to us so far. I'm honestly a little surprised your people are given this much prejudice. From what you've told me, there isn't any other species in the galaxy that is better with technology than yours are."

She looked down at the table. "The salarians come pretty close, but you're correct. Nearly every quarian in the fleet has to be able to make repairs in order to keep everything running smoothly, and that means everyone has very extensive training about ships and electronics, and... you know what I mean."

I nodded. "Tell me if you have any problems you need help with. I'll see what I can do." I stood up and stretched.

Tali looked up at me. "Marcus..."

I stopped stretching and looked back at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Do you," she started. She seemed to be nervously choking back the words she wanted to say. I smiled, knowing what she was attempting to ask.

"I've been an only child, Tali. You're the first person I've ever truly been able to relate to. So yes, Tali. You're not just a friend to me."

She stood up roughly. "I... I need to think about this." After that, she ran up one side of the stairs. I scratched my head, slightly confused. Liara had just walked out of the medical bay, which was in front of her office. She looked at the fleeing quarian for a moment before turning to me.

"What did you do to make her run like that?" She sounded annoyed at me, which I guess was justified considering what she had just witnessed.

I decided to just sit back down. "She's confused, Liara. I wasn't trying to offend her or make her mad."

Liara apparantly understood, since she nodded and sat down in Tali's spot. She grinned for a moment, then asked me, "Say, Marcus. Shepard said you were involved in a mission shortly before transferring over to the Normandy. He also said that was the cause of, well, Therum." She said the last few words awkwardly, as if she didn't really want to mention it to me.

I let out a weary sigh. She put on a scared look and continued, "I understand if you don't want to talk about it. I was just curious, is all." The way she rushed it made me feel slightly guilty inside.

I shook my head. "No, it's fine. I was part of a mission against a Cerberus research facility." She raised an eyebrow. Apparantly she had never heard of Cerberus. "They're an extremist group of some kind, I don't know much about them. Anyway, the facility we infiltrated looked like they were trying to clone Rachni." This she gasped at, a shocked expression on her face. "We destroyed the facility, but my entire squad was killed. We went to the Citadel, and I was offered a spot on the Normandy six days later. You know what happens after that."

She looked down at the table. "I'm sorry, Marcus. I see why you did what you did now. It must be difficult seeing your friends die."

I couldn't swallow the lump in my throat. All I could get out was a choked, "Yeah.". I stood up again and walked towards the stairs, leaving Liara to sit at the table alone. I decided to go down to the armory to make any last minute adjustments, since we were going to arrive on Virmire in an hour.

Wrex was even more restless, but denied my question about his family armor. He didn't have a set location yet, but he was sure he would soon. Garrus was also more restless than usual, occasionally hesitating while he worked on the Mako. He noticed me looking at him curiously as I cleaned the inside of my shotgun's barrel, but he shook his head dismissively in my direction, obviously not willing to speak his mind at the moment. With fifteen minutes to dropdown, Shepard came over the loudspeaker.

"Wrex, Kaidan, Liara. We're dropping down in the Mako first. Everyone else, stay on standby. There's no telling what the situation is down there, and we might need your help. Initial scans have shown that there is a facility surrounded by AA towers. We also found what looks like a separate base camp, probably the team sent here. We'll take down the AA Towers near the camp so that you can dock. We're dropping in fifteen minutes. Get ready."

Wrex growled and put on his armor. Kaidan and Liara entered shortly after, doing the same. Shepard was the last to show up, a whole minute after Liara and Kaidan appeared in the elevator. Shepard entered the Mako first several minutes later after putting on his armor. Liara and Kaidan went in next, and Wrex piled in last, obviously the gunner.

Shepard's voice rang from the Mako. "Get everyone to suit up as well. There's no telling what can happen when you land."

Garrus replied, "Yes sir" before walking to the elevator. I fetched Tali from Engineering next door, then suited up in the meantime, ready for whatever happened. Garrus returned soon after with Ashley and Jentha. I watched in silence as the three of them prepared themselves for a battle.

It was twenty minutes later when Joker called for us to go up to the CIC. Shepard was at the second AA Gun in the area, and we were going to prepare to land at the camp soon after. Ashley and I waited at the bridge behind Joker, while the other three remained in the nearby room leading to the airlock.

_"Ground Team to Normandy. The second AA Tower is down. I repeat, the second AA Tower is down. You're free to land."_ Shepard's voice rang through the entire room with the robotic version of his voice.

Joker ended the transmission and activated another one. "Base Camp, this is the SSV Normandy of the Alliance. Requesting to land, over."

A salarian answered immediately. "Roger Normandy. Be quick about it."

Joker turned and grinned with pride at us, then landed at the camp. The same salarian crackled over the loudspeaker again. "Attention Normandy. You are now grounded for the duration of this mission. Meet us outside your ship."

Joker responded with, "Affirmative. Sending the ground team out." Afterwards, he turned his chair towards us. "Looks like we're stuck on this fake paradise. I'll notify Shepard about what's going on; it doesn't look like he's there yet."

I nodded and walked to the rest of the team in the airlock, Ashley behind me. "Looks like the camp is clear of hostiles," I said to them. "Don't look to start a fight. The information they have could be valuable." I aimed that part at Jentha, who was holding a cigarette in one hand and a pistol in the other. She smirked as she put her pistol back on her hip, only removing it from her face to breathe in the smoke. I rolled my eyes as the airlock began to simulate the atmosphere of the planet. After a minute, the door opened to reveal what looked like a paradise world. We had landed on what looked like a few inches of clear water, a couple dozen feet away from the beach where the settlement was.

One of the salarians was quickly walking towards us. I jumped off the ship, taking in the sights. This truly looked like a place I'd go for a vacation.

The salarian stopped in front of us and referenced me. "Are you the commanding officer of this ship?"

I shook my head. "The CO is the one that took out the nearby AA Towers and will be here shortly. The second in command is still on the ship. None of us are in a position of command," I stated, extending my arm to include everyone behind me.

The Salarian nodded and turned around. "Kirrahe would like to speak with you. Follow me, please."

The group of us followed him to the beach, where another Salarian was holding a datapad. The Salarian leading us saluted him, which he returned.

"These are some of the soldiers of the ship that just dropped down, sir. The CO will be here soon."

Kirrahe looked us over, then gave the datapad to the other Salarian. "Did the council send you? I hope you weren't all they sent to us."

I stepped forward. "The council did send us," I told him. "That's all I know, however. Shepard will be able to tell you more."

Kirrahe shook his head and began to pace. "This is even worse than I thought. We'll have to make a new plan. The quarian and the turian can help us." I looked back to see Garrus' and Tali's response. Garrus nodded and started walking towards us, Tali doing the same after a slight hesitation. Kirrahe motioned to the largest tent, which I assumed was the staging tent. The two of them ducked inside the flaps. Jentha snorted and walked off to explore the camp. Kirrahe gave her a quick glance but didn't stop her.

We heard an engine in the background back from where we came. I turned around and saw the Mako zooming across the water towards us. It stopped next to the Normandy, and the four occupants inside piled out. Wrex growled at Kirrahe, but followed Shepard nonetheless. Kaidan stood next to Ashley and me while Liara stayed back with Wrex. I stepped to the side as Shepard walked past me, standing in front of Kirrahe.

Kirrahe began first by stating, "You're Shepard, Commanding Officer of this ship, correct?"

Shepard nodded. "Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy. What's the situation here?"

Kirrahe nodded curtly. "I'm Captain Kirrahe," he began professionally. "Third Infiltration Regiment STG. You and your crew have landed in a hotzone. Every AA Tower within ten miles has been alerted of your presence. If you try to leave before our mission is done, your ship won't make it a thousand feet. If you're all the council sent us, then we'll have to be careful about how we do this."

Shepard put his hand on his chin, thinking. "What's this mission you're talking about?"

"We were asked by the council to investigate this planet, as they had suspicions that Saren was planning something here. The facility towards my back looks like a research facility, and it's very heavily fortified by geth forces. I lost half my men 'investigating' this place." He said 'investigating' very sarcastically, as if what had actually happened was far from investigating.

"What do you think Saren is doing here?" Shepard asked. Kirrahe sighed, hesitant to respond for a moment.

"He's breeding an army of Krogan."

I turned around at Wrex's approach. He looked confused and surprised at the same time. He stopped when he was next to Shepard.

"How is that possible?"

Kirrahe took a step back, not surprising with a krogan in his face. He appeared hesitant when he responded with, "Apparantly, he's discovered a cure to the genophage."

Shepard looked confused. "What's so important about this genophage?"

Wrex exhaled in annoyance. "It was **their** solution to the Krogan problem." He spat the word 'their' at Kirrahe, as if it was directly his fault. "Because of your kind, only one out of every thousand krogan pregnancies doesn't end in stillbirth." He stared daggers into Kirrahe. I was extremely glad that stare wasn't aimed at me, or I'd probably piss my pants on the spot. Kirrahe looked unfazed.

"The genophage was used to quell the uprising. Without the genophage, the krogan would overrun the galaxy within a few centuries. If Saren's krogan army is released, they would overrun the galaxy in only years."

Shepard sighed again. "The geth are bad enough, but a krogan army? This has to be stopped before it's too late."

Kirrahe nodded curtly. "I agree. We have to ensure that this facility and the secrets within are destroyed."

Wrex snorted. "Destroyed? I don't think so, Salarian. My people are dying. That cure can save them."

Kirrahe did not back down. Shaking his head, he responded with, "We cannot make the same mistake again. The cure cannot be released."

Wrex's eyes became enraged as he stepped directly up to Kirrahe. Pointed his finger only inches from the salarian's face, he stated, "We are **not **a mistake," before walking off. His voice betrayed his cold anger.

Kirrahe turned back to Shepard. "Will he be a problem? We have enough angry krogan to deal with."

Shepard held his hand up. "I'll talk to him. Don't worry." He walked off after Wrex, motioning for me to follow. I raised my eyebrow at him, but followed nonetheless.

Wrex was firing his shotgun into the water, growling incessently all the while. He turned gruffly as we approached.

"This isn't right, Shepard. If there is a cure here, we can't destroy it." He turned and fired again, turning his face into a deeper scowl.

Shepard held his hands up. "I understand you're upset, but we're not the enemy here, Wrex. Saren is."

His face whipped around again. He took a step and shook his head. "Are you sure? Saren's the one who created the cure." He turned to shoot the water again. "Help me out, Shepard. The line between friend and foe is getting blurry from where I stand."

Shepard sighed in annoyance. "Saren's using the cure to create weapons and nothing else. Saren's not going to let the rest of the krogan reap the benefits if this facility is left standing."

Wrex shook his head and growled in anger. "We should be willing to take that chance. Shepard, we're talking about my entire species. I've been loyal to you so far; if you want me to continue, I need to know you're doing it for the right reasons." He stepped back and aimed his shotgun into Shepard's face. Shepard, for his part, grabbed his own and aimed it into Wrex's. I sighed and pulled out my own, aiming it at Wrex.

I heard a female laugh behind me and felt myself being pushed out of the way. Shepard and Wrex looked surprised to see Jentha approach the krogan. She grabbed his shotgun and pushed it down. Wrex's frown became more and more enraged.

"Do you understand what Saren's doing here, you numbskull? Saren doesn't give a flying pyjak's ass about the krogan. He only wants to use them for his tools. After he's finished with them, he'll dispose of them just like the council did to you last time. If we save the facility, we'll make sure it's known to the krogan that it was Urdnot Wrex who did this to them." She smirked and smacked the shotgun out of Wrex's arms before stepping back and crossing her arms. _She is either the most brave person I've ever met, or the most stupid, _I thought in amazement. No one simply walked up to a krogan and disarmed him.

Wrex took a deep breath before responding. "The council's reward for us taking care of their rachni problem was to neuter us. I doubt Saren would be so generous." He picked up his shotgun and put it back with the rest of his weapons. "You've made your point, but you do not want to do that again, little girl. Understand?"

Jentha laughed, as if she was amused at the threat, and walked back to where Ashley and Kaidan were waiting. Liara had been asked into the commanding tent as well.

I looked at Shepard and he did the same to me, both of us shaking our heads in disbelief. Wrex had turned back to shooting the water. The two of us walked back to the large tent where Kirrahe had disappeared to. Kaidan and Ashley noticed and followed us in our approah. We ducked inside to see Tali, Garrus, Liara, and several salarians sitting around a relatively small table. Kirrahe was standing in front of them.

He noticed us and met us at the entrance. "We're close to done with our new plan. Thank you for talking with the krogan. It will be difficult enough as it is with his help. It will be much harder without."

Shepard nodded. "What do you have?"

Kirrahe began to pace as he talked. "We can convert our ship's drive core into a twenty-kiloton bomb. Crude, but effective. We'll assault the base directly, while you and a small team infiltrate the back." His voice was nervous, as if he wasn't confident in this plan.

Kaidan cut in with, "What's stopping us from simply dropping it in?"

Kirrahe shook his head. "The facility is far too fortified for that. We have to get the bomb into the facility to a specific location. The Normandy can hold the nuke, but we'll have to destroy the AA Guns and make sure the ground troops won't be able to disarm the bomb."

Kaidan piped up again. "Wait, we're doing a ground assault? We don't have enough men."

Kirrahe sighed. "It's the only way. I'll divide my troops into three teams of fifteen that will assault various sections of this part of the base."

Shepard shook his head in disbelief. "You'll be slaughtered, Kirrahe."

He nodded grimly. "That's why what I'm going to have to ask is even more difficult. Commander, I need two of your men to help me lead the troops."

Shepard raised his eyebrows in surprise. I stepped forward. "Shepard, I can handle this. I'm willing to go." Shepard looked at me with a strange unreadable look, then nodded.

"Garvil and Kaidan will go with you, Kirrahe. I will prepare the infiltration team." Shepard turned to the three of us. "Ashley, go with Kirrahe to arm the bomb." She saluted and marched back to the ship. The three aliens had left the table at this point and joined us. Shepard turned towards them and stated, "Tali, do what you can to provide the salarians with support." She nodded and sat back down at the table. "Garrus, Liara, we're the infiltration team. Go get Wrex and Jentha, they'll be alongside us as well. Get ready." The two of them nodded and left the tent.

Shepard turned back to Kaidan and I. "Marcus, you're my second in command on this mission. If I'm not around, then the you will be my voice." I was visibly surprised by the statement, but nodded. I was the obvious choice with my leadership training and experience. "Despite where we are all at, we are still a team. I trust you two to do what I know you can do. Do your jobs well, and everyone gets out of here in one piece." Shepard smiled at us. "Good luck."

With that, he left the tent. Kaidan and I looked at each other, then I walked to Tali.

She looked up at me when I approached. "Marcus, good luck out there."

I smiled at her. This time, I know I saw the small outline of her mouth return it within her helmet. "Good luck to you too, Tali."

I walked back outside the tent to find Kirrahe standing in front of several lines of salarian troops. Kaidan and I stood several feet behind him, listening to his speech.

"You all know the mission and what is at stake. I have come to trust each and everyone one of you with my life, but I've also heard murmurs of discontent. I share your concerns. We are trained for espionage. We would be legends, but the records are sealed. Glory in battle is not our way."

Kirrahe began to pace slowly as his words became more passionate.

"Think of our heroes: the Silent Step, who defeated a nation with a single shot. Or the Ever Alert, who kept armies at bay with hidden facts. These giants do not seem to give us solace here, but they are not all that we are. Before the network, there was the fleet. Before diplomacy, there were soldiers."

Kirrahe's passion was getting even stronger. I was having trouble not getting inspired at this point.

"Our inspiration stopped the rachni, but before that, we held the line. Our influence stopped the krogan, but before that, we held the line."

Kirrahe stopped pacing and faced the troops, not talking for a moment. The last part of his speech was silent, but confident.

"Our influence will stop Saren! In the battle today, we will hold the line!"

Kirrahe turned to face Shepard, who had walked up to the side alongside Wrex, Garrus, and Liara. "Good luck Commander. I hope we meet again."

* * *

><p>Kaidan, Kirrahe, and I stood in three separate formations of fifteen men each. Kirrahe activated his comm channel to Shepard. "Do you read me Commander?"<p>

_"Loud and clear, Kirrahe."_

"Good. We'll begin our push to the AA Guns. It might be up to you to finish the job. Oh, Commander. If you can find a way to undermine their defenses, we could definitely use the help."

Kirrahe turned off the communications channel and turned to Kaidan and me. "Alenko, you take the northern entrance. Garvil, the southern. My force will go up the middle. Any questions?"

Both of us shook our heads. Kirrahe nodded. "Off you go then. Good luck, you two."

I led my team towards the righthand path. I looked at Tali before dropping from sight, but she didn't notice me. Kirrahe's group was already out of sight from my location, and I only got to see her for a couple seconds.

I turned around to face my squadrom. "All right, you two go ahead as scouts. We'll stay out of sight until you come back with an assessment." The two closest Salarians nodded and ran forward along the path. I slowly walked to follow, making sure to stay behind. We walked for a minute before they came back.

"Sir, snipers are everywhere. Shock troopers make up a significant amount of the infantry force, but there are some regular troopers as well." I nodded without betraying my dismay.

I began directing everyone to the best of my ability. "I understand five of you are equipped with sniper rifles. Get them out and go up there to provide us with covering fire." I pointed to a dip in the path that ended in a raised platform. The five I referenced saluted and brought out their sniper rifles. "You two, go up there with them and make sure they don't get flanked. The rest of you, on me."

I began to jog down the path with my assault rifle raised. When I found the section of the facility referenced by the scouts, I dipped behind a low wall on the path. The various troops alongside me took cover where they could, but one was shot down by a sniper before getting to cover in time. My eyes blurred for a moment, the guilt beginning to set in. I gritted my teeth and pushed it away.

_There will be casualties," _I thought. _"I can't avoid it. I just have to do the best I can with what is left."_

The words sounded slightly hollow in my head, but I forced myself to calm down anyway.

The fight lasted several minutes, with three more salarians dying at the hands of the geth.

Kirrahe popped up on my omni-tool's transmitter. _"Shadow Team is in the facility. My team is as well. Lieutenant Alenko and Aegohr team, status report."_

_"Heavy resistance, Captain. We're getting decimated."_

_"Acknowledged. Lieutenant Garvil and Jaeto team, status report."_

I turned on my transmitter. "We're nearly in, Captain. Only four casualties."

_"Acknowledged. We're approaching the first AA tower."_

Shepard came on only moments after. _"We've reached the facility. We're diverting some of the forces towards our end. Hopefully it will put some pressure off you guys."_

I transmitted my order for the sniper team to join us as we approached the entrance to the facility. The door opened and we took out the geth inside the first room.

Kirrahe came over the transmitter again. _They're calling sat strikes. Lt. Garvil, look for comm stations. Lt. Alenko, same. My team's at the first AA Tower. After this, there's five left. Stay alert, all."_

My team travelled through the rooms towards the nearest AA Tower. I lost two more men in the exchanges. I had nine left alongside myself. _One third of my force simply gone_, I thought glumly. _This isn't looking very good._

We reached the tower and cleared it out, disabling it afterwards. Another salarian was killed in action during the effort. I transmitted our success.

Kaidan began transmitting only seconds after. _"We're pinned down at our AA tower. Aegohr team, take defensive positions."_

There were only two towers left. I began making my way across the facility with what remained of my squadron. It was getting more and more difficult to keep the guilt at bay, although I kept my head focused and on the geth. Krogan troops appeared as well, and only became more common the farther we got into the facility.

_"We've disabled another AA Tower. Heading towards the bomb site."_ Kirrahe's voice popped up.

Shepard came up a second later. _"We're at the last AA Tower. Everyone who's left, try to get to the bomb site. After we're done here, we'll see about disabling the communications to this place."_

I rerouted and fought to the bomb site. We made it to the coordinates with only three salarians left. Kirrahe was already there with two as well as Tali. Ashley was setting up the bomb.

Kirrahe walked up to me. "Lt. Alenko is still pinned down at the AA Tower. It will be some time before the bomb is ready. Take Tali and the rest of the troops. I can defend the bomb."

I nodded and saluted, which he returned. "Good luck, Lieutenant."

I took the five troops and Tali, running down the hallway that would bring us closest to the AA Tower.

Shepard came through the transmitter again. _"We've shut down outbound communications. We have another problem, guys. Sovereign has arrived, bringing Saren and a new platoon of geth. You guys are in for some trouble soon. We're fighting Saren, but the geth are spreading throughout the facility."_

I cursed softly to myself and sprinted harder.

Ashley came over the transmitter. _"The bomb is armed, but I'm under attack by Geth forces."_

Kaidan cut her off with his own transmission. _"We're not going to last much longer over here. There's just two of us left."_

_"Garvil, you have to save Kaidan. That AA Tower cannot be online if you all wish to get out of here. Kirrahe's already on the Normandy, and they're picking up the Commander now. I can hold off the geth until the bomb's ready to go off."_

_"Negative. The bomb is the most important thing here. If that doesn't go off, this entire operation is for nothing. Go save Ashley. I can disable the AA Turret so they don't bring it back online._

I dropped to my knees. Tali came up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "Marcus, you have to make a choice. You can't save them both." Her voice carried compassion at my situation.

I barely heard her as I devolved to my flashback.

_We approach the Cerberus research facility. My team breaks through under heavy fire. We reach the office. Two of my team stays behind to guard the door, while the other comes with me. None make it out alive._

_None..._

_..._

_Alive..._

_..._

_..._

I opened my eyes and got back to my feet.

_I lost everyone because I waited,_ I thought bitterly. _I failed my team._

_I refuse to do this again. I will __**not **__sit by while two good people die. If I can save only one, then I have done my part._

_I'm sorry Ash._

I began walking the same direction we had been going before. "We're going after Kaidan. Ashley's a good soldier; she's able to defend the bomb long enough for us to get away." I broke into a run, watching

I felt tears growing in the back of my eyes as I ran. I quickly wiped them as we ran. We saw the geth forces going into the AA Tower Kaidan was referring to. I dragged out my shotgun and mowed down every machine in my way, all the way up to the top of the tower.

I turned on my transmitter. "Normandy, This is Marcus. We're with Kaidan at the AA Tower." I paused as tears formed in my eyes again. "Ash, I'm sorry."

Ashley didn't respond.

Shortly after, the Normandy appeared and we hopped on quickly. Shepard and Kirrahe were at the entrance, but I ignored them. Sprinting to the engineering room, I sat down sharply in the chair I usually sat in to do my repairs, lost in my thoughts. I remained stuck until Tali brought me into a hug. I stared at the opposite wall, shocked, but my hesitation only lasted a second as I wrapped my arms around her as well.

"You did your best," she whispered into my ear. I nodded as she let go. I stood up and stretched, feeling like I had been awake for two straight days. Tali patted me on the shoulder and walked back to where Kirrahe was standing, along with the last three salarian troops. Out of the 46 salarians that were there when we touched down, only four had survived.

_This mission came at a heavy price._

Shepard was up in the briefing room, as was evident when the loudspeaker came on. "All ground team units, meet in the briefing room."

Kirrahe smiled at me as I stood up, and walked up to me when I approached the elevator. "You did good, Lieutenant. I heard about the choice you had to make. You did what you could under the circumstances. No one can ask for anything more."

I nodded, knowing he was right. I entered the elevator as it closed, bringing Tali and me up to the CIC.

Everyone else was already there. I took the spot that had been Ashley's, while Tali took her usual spot.

Shepard was looking grim as he looked at my seat. "We lost a good soldier today. Ashley Williams gave her life to make sure that our mission was a success." He slammed his right fight into the other palm. "Take this as a personal reason to stop Saren. While stopping him will save the entire galaxy from the geth, now we can save a piece of that vengeance for Ash."

He stood up straight and returned to his usual composed self.

"I've found another beacon. Directly afterwards, we were able to talk to Soverign directly. Saren's not the biggest threat. His starship is a reaper."

My eyes opened wide at the news. _An actual reaper?_

Shepard sighed grimly. "Saren believes that the only way to save ourselves from the reapers is to join them. He's indoctrinated, although he still believes his mind is his own. He's as much a victim as Benezia. That doesn't mean he has to be stopped any less. Liara."

Liara stood up, apparantly already knowing what Shepard was going to ask.

Shepard nodded to her. "Shiala gave me the Cipher, the embodiment of the prothean race. The second beacon in Virmire might have had the missing pieces. If we were to meld minds, would you be able to tell what the message is?"

Liara nodded, smiling wide. She walked up to Shepard until they were only a single step apart. With only a few seconds of hesitation, she stated, "Embrace Eternity!".

Fifteen seconds passed before the two stopped staring at each other. Liara stumbled back, her face to the side of her forehead. Shepard stood straight, but still looked worse for wear.

"Liara," Shepard began after a moment. "Did the vision make sense to you?"

She finally stood up, having collected herself from the vision. "I understand now. The message was a distress call, sent across the entire prothean empire about the reapers. It was too late." She shook her head sadly.

Shepard nodded grimly. "Was there anything else related to the Conduit?"

Liara thought for a second, then began slowly. "There were locations, as well. My research..." Her eyes opened wide. "Ilos! That's where the Conduit is! That's why Saren needed to know the location of the Mu Relay! That's the only way to get to Ilos!"

Shepard raised his eyebrow, then frowned. "Saren probably already knows the location of the conduit as well. We have to get there before he does!"

Kaidan shook his head in response. "Shepard, we can't blindly so after it. Alliance ships aren't welcome in the Terminus Systems, and Saren will have the Mu Relay very heavily defended. We need the Council's help with this."

Shepard sighed. "You're right Kaidan. I'll try to petition the council to help. In the meantime, we can still go after Benezia on Noveria. If we can defeat her, then Saren will lose an important part of his army."

He turned towards the rest of us. "Crew dismissed. I need to talk to the council."

I stood up and left the room along with everyone else.

As we left, Joker voice came over the intercom.

"Marcus! Come here, you might want to see this." Joker's voice held sadness instead of his usual sarcasm.

I detoured to the cockpit and stood at his side as he turned towards the side.

"Um, I hope you already knew about this."

He brought up the screen that had been installed to keep him busy on his off hours so he wouldn't have to get up. His Vroliks Syndrome made walking around dangerous.

I read the article he had active.

_Martha Garvil died today in the hospital of a heart attack. The wife of the man who owns the Garvil Corporation as well as the mother of Marcus Garvil, she will be sorely missed. Her husband refused to give an interview, and her only son was not able to be contacted._

I was completely blown away by this. _Mother... gone?_ I thought, not comprehending the thought. I looked at the date of the article.

_Three weeks and two days ago?_ I thought angrily. _Why was I not notified of this?_

My hand shook in rage as I read the rest of the article. After I finished, I turned around and walked back to the briefing room. Shepard had just left, walking towards the galaxy map. I entered the briefing room and created a secure channel, punching in my father's work phone as the destination.

There was only a few second's wait before the call picked up. "Marcus? Is that you?" My father's voice rang through the room.

I could barely contain my rage. "Mother died three weeks ago." I couldn't hold it in anymore. "Why didn't you tell me?" I yelled at him.

His response was arrogant. "You joined the military against my better wishes. When you enlisted, you left behind any chance of succeeding me as head of the company. I'm not going to use up my time with someone who will not be a benefit to me."

I stared in shock. I had stopped sending mail to him when I joined the Normandy since he never sent any back, but this was simply not what I would have expected.

I took a deep breath. "You're more worried about your company than me. You are no father of mine."

I closed the transmission before he could respond. I fell to my knees, tears flowing down my face.

In the span of two hours, I had lost one of my squadmates and both of my was no pushing away the anguish I felt.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: The Virmire change was what I felt worked best with the way the story unfolded. Up next is Garrus' and Wrex's personal missions, then Noveria.**

**EDIT: Fixed a minor retcon. **


	11. Test of Loyalty

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect and its characters. All I own is the OC's and the changes in the plot**

* * *

><p><strong>POV Garvil<strong>

I'm not sure how long I was in the briefing room before Jentha entered. I was still letting all the pent up emotion out when I felt myself being dragged to my feet.

I wasn't sure what was happening for a moment until I felt my cheek burn. It took me a few seconds to realize that she had slapped me.

"Hey, numbskull. You going to hold yourself together?"

I fell down onto the floor both from emotion and the force of the slap. Jentha sighed in exasperation and leaned against the wall nearest to me. She rolled her eyes when I got myself up to my feet again.

"I thought you were better than this. Son of the most influential man on Earth? You're a weakling."

I scowled at her as I brushed the tears from my eyes. "What do you know? You're just a mercenary under the Alliance's flag."

Jentha raised an eyebrow. "You have no idea, do you?" She said unconcerned, getting out a cigarette from her hip pouch. She lit it and stuck it in her mouth before continuing. "You're the most powerful human biotic and given the best training, yet you consistantly fuck up on missions. Why should anyone give a shit about you?"

I grabbed her by the front of her jumpsuit and slammed her into the wall. I didn't care anymore. "You son of a bitch. You don't know anything about honor, about loss. All you give a shit about is the mission and the fastest possible way to get it done. I've seen your report on Torfan. Your commanding officer resigned after what you did. You're an abomination to humanity, and the reason no one trusts us on the galactic stage." I glared into her face, her bored gaze only feeding my fury.

"Marcus, stand down!" Shepard's angered voice rang through the room. I turned to the door to see him standing in the door, giving me an enraged look. Liara stood behind him, her eyes wide with shock. I let go of Jentha's jumpsuit and sat down. I didn't even glance at her, but I saw her smirk against my head.

Shepard walked up to me. "Explain yourself." His voice was calm, but his posture betrayed a high level of annoyance.

I sighed, hands still shaking with anger. "I learn that my mother is dead and that my father kept me out of the loop on purpose, and she comes in here and says there's no reason for me to be here. Ironic considering no one likes that vorcha here." I put sarcasm into my voice as I jabbed the last sentence towards Jentha. She rolled her eyes at me and took another drag from her cigarette.

Liara gasped. "Your own father would keep your mother's death from you?" Her voice sounded indignant.

I nodded bitterly. "She died over three weeks ago, and I didn't find out until Joker told me."

Shepard rubbed his temples and sighed. "Marcus, go see Selwyn and Chakwas." He turned to Jentha with anger back in his face. "I've heard from just about everyone on the ship about your bullshit, Jentha. Cut the shit out before I throw you out for disrupting the mission."

She snorted in response. _She really does have no shame,_ I thought in disbelief. _I didn't even know someone like that could exist._

I stood and started walking to the briefing room door. I stumbled against the doorway when I reached it, but felt myself being supported from the side. I turned and saw Liara frowning at me in worry. I shook my head and focused on walking, letting the rage filter out of me.

Selwyn stood up and helped me to the nearest bed. Liara stood watching for a minute as Selwyn began to run the first set of tests. Afterwards, she simply walked into her office in the back of the medical bay. I sighed as my head began to pound. I had gone through way too much in one day.

* * *

><p><strong>POV Shepard<strong>

I shook my head as I left the briefing room. Tali had told me about what happened when Marcus had to choose between Ashley and Kaidan. I had heard the transmissions, as they had been broadcasted through the public channel across the entire team and Kirrahe, but I hadn't known at the time what had truly happened.

_"Ashley came over the transmitter first, saying the bomb was under attack. Kaidan came over the transmitter next saying he was going to be overrun soon. They both said to save the other, and Marcus snapped for a second. His eyes showed nothing but pain as he fell to his hands and knees. I didn't know what to do, but he only stayed like that for a few seconds. He looked up with determination, as if he knew exactly what he was going to do, but it changed into regret as he ran towards where the AA Tower Kaidan was stuck in. I think he was reliving the same thing as on Therum, Shepard. I'm worried."_

And now to know that he's essentially lost both his parents as well. No wonder he snapped at Jentha's demeanor, she was far out of line as well.

_Both of them will stay grounded on the ship for a while,_ I reasoned. _Both of them need some time to think._

I slowly walked down the stairs and grabbed a quick drink powder packet. I added it to the small bottle of purified water attached to it and swished a mouthful through my mouth. _We're getting so close,_ I thought, _but this only gets harder._

I looked up when I saw none other but Wrex standing in front of the stairs that led to the CIC. I stood up, taking another deep drought of the bottle. It was already almost gone.

"Hey Wrex, what's up?"

He looked distracted, but his voice had conviction. "I found him, Shepard. Tonn Actus' primary base is in the Argus Rho cluster, Phoenix system, planet Tantau. If my armor isn't in that base, then it doesn't exist."

I nodded. "I'll tell Joker to set a course. We'll get that armor, Wrex. Don't worry."

He grunted his appreciation. "Thanks Shepard. You've done more to help me than anyone."

I waved it off. "I see to my crew, Wrex. You should know this by now."

He nodded slightly before turning and walking back up the stairs. I stretched and dumped the rest of the drink into my mouth. I put the bottle into the disposal and watched it being atomized. I had a lot on my mind, and the crew was simply being more and more restless. Jentha, despite being a real damn good soldier, was starting to be a major pain to have on the ship.

I walked to my quarters and sat down at my desk, filing out my weekly report for the Alliance. These things usually took two hours to fill out completely, and I nearly finished when I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

I turned and saw that it was Liara. She looked down at the ground as she walked up to me, and I stood up to meet her. Smiling into her shy face, I asked, "Everything all right, Liara?"

She smiled back, but it disappeared when she began talking. "I've always wondered what melding would be like, but..." She sighed. "I don't think we can be thinking about this while we're on the mission, Shepard. Saren's our number one priority, and this could get in the way."

My heart throbbed at her words, but my face didn't show it. I couldn't hide the sadness from my voice, however. "I understand, Liara. Once Saren's stopped, we can talk about us again." I took the last step between us and put my arms around her. Liara's arms felt good around me, but I knew it would be the last time before Saren was stopped. My heart filled with sadness when she left my embrace.

"I'm sorry, Shepard." She gave me one sad look, then walked out of the room slowly. I could only stare after her until the door closed, and continued for a few more seconds. I loved the asari, and I knew she felt the same way back. It stung to hear her say no, even if it was only a break.

I sat back in my chair, unable to concentrate on the report.

* * *

><p>I stood in the enginnering bay two days later, in front of the mako. Wrex and Kaidan were going with me to Tantau, and I was giving the briefing. The plan was to destroy the outside defenses with the Mako, then infiltrate the inside and confront Tonn Actus directly. Wrex gave his grumbling laugh, expressing his excitement of this plan.<p>

I rolled my eyes and climbed into the Mako's driver seat. Wrex took the gunner's spot as usual, leaving Kaidan with one of the passenger seats.

We sat for a few minutes before being dropped off on the gray planet. We drove for a f ew minutes in silence, the excitement coming off of Wrex practically being the only thing one could smell in the cramped setting.

I shook my head and sighed deeply, watching as the facility came into view. Wrex sniped a turian pirate before they even realized we were there, and the other one fell jus as easily.

We exited the Mako in front of the facility, ready to meet any opposition inside. The pirates began to filter through to the entrance where we entered, but they weren't strong enough to handle our onslaught. It was rather sad, actually, seeing a line of troops get mowed down as they fell, exposing the man behind him.

Wrex stomped into the room angrily. Growling loudly, he screamed "Tonn Actus!". He berserked through the room, knocking over various boxes in persuit of his target. We found a door through the mess of boxes, which Actus was inside. The turian brought up his shotgun in fear, obviously not knowing that an angry krogan would be knocking down his door and slaughtering all of his men.

Wrex walked up and punched Actus in the chest, causing him to slam into the wall. The pirate grunted as the air got pushed out of his lungs. Wrex put one foot on top of his chest.

"You have something I want. Something that's dear to me."

Actus gulped, but didn't say anything.

"I am Wrex of clan Urdnot. You have my family's armor."

Actus shook his head hurriedly, which caused Wrex to press down, making the turian's eyes bulge and the remaining air to choke out of his mouth.

Wrex snarled "Wrong answer," raising his shotgun to aim it at Actus' face. The latter couldn't do anything as the shot rang out. I turned away at the resulting sight. I was disgusted at Wrex's choice to use explosive rounds, causing bits of pink to dot the room around the rest of his body.

Kaidan grunted in disgust. "Did you seriously have to do that, Wrex?"

Wrex growled in anger. "Search this place. It has to be here somewhere." With that, he went to the most elaborate looking box in the room, straining to get the door open. It finally cracked open from the stress, revealing one of the most ridiculous looking pieces of armor I had ever seen. He laughed as he grabbed the set. "It's absolute garbage in a fight, but it's good to have it back regardless."

He spat on Actus' mess of a head before walking back to the door we entered from. "We've got what we came for. Let's go."

I glanced at Kaidan, who simply shrugged and shook his head at me in response. I facepalmed and followed, ready to get far away from this.

* * *

><p>I stepped out of the Mako and stretched. There was no stretching room in there and my limbs were feeling sore. I didn't get a chance to rest, however, as Garrus walked up to me with conviction in his face.<p>

"Commander, I've found him. Dr. Saleon."

I nodded, walking with Garrus to the elevator. "Where is he?"

"Herschel System, Kepler Verge," he replied in excitement.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You're obviously happy to find him."

He nodded in response. "I've been searching for him for years, Shepard. I've been waiting for this the entire time. I'll be able to finally finish what I've begun."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Garrus, calm down. You're becoming obsessed with this."

His manibles twitched as he gave me a surprised look. "Commander?"

I folded my arms. "We're going to the Kepler Verge next, but I need you to promise me something Garrus." He nodded hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure he was going to like it. "This is still my operation. Stand down until he's hostile. If he surrenders peacefully, we'll take him peacefully." He nodded, giving a sigh in the process.

I sighed in exasperation. "Garrus, you know better than this. If you blind yourself with revenge, you'll be no better than Saren."

He gave me a strange look. "We'll see Commander. I'll stay focused, I promise."

The elevator opened and he stepped out, walking towards one of the stairs. I walked out and said to him, "Think about it Garrus." With that, I turned away and walked up the galaxy map ramp to set our next course.

* * *

><p>We docked with the MSV Fedele the next day. Garrus and Tali were with me at the airlock, weapons ready and prepared to go through the ship. The airlock opened and Joker gave us the go ahead. After a quick pressure change, we began walking through the ship. The first major room we entered had several mutated humans, humans that looked like they were a mixture between starved, burned, and zombified.<p>

The 'humans' saw us and screeched loudly, making me flinch as my ears rang. I threw a grenade into the middle of them and detonated it, instantly killing two of them and killing another on impact with the nearest wall. Garrus sniped the head clean off a fourth, while Tali's combat drone paralyzed the rest with its electric attack. We entered the room and killed the remaining hostiles, looking around the room. I suspected that the door on the far end led to the bridge, so I led the squad to the door. Staying alert, I opened the door to find a three way intersection. The one straight ahead had the bridge, both the pilot and the co-pilot appeared to be dead. I raised my eyebrow at Tali and Garrus, but didn't say anything.

One side room appeared to be a morgue, with various tables topped with covered figures. I sighed sadly and looked at Garrus. He was staring at the bodies with increasing rage. Without any hesitation, I forcibly turned him around and pushed him out of the room. I walked past him, but Garrus stopped me before I opened the door.

"Shepard, I saw Dr. Saleon's lab the first time. There was a room that looked exactly like that. This guy is a menace to the galaxy; we can't let him live."

I shook my head. "Garrus, remember what I said." He looked to the ground and nodded. After a second, I turned back to the door and opened it.

A salarian raised his head from a desk he had been hiding behind, then sighed. "Thank god. I've been needing-" He noticed Garrus at that point, his large eyes somehow growing larger.

Garrus took a step past me. "Dr. Saleon."

Saleon composed himself quickly after his slip. "No, there's no Dr. Saleon here. I'm Dr. Heart, medical professor of this ship."

Garrus snorted. "Don't bullshit me. You've been growing organs again." He grabbed the doctor's medical suit by the neck and lifted him up a couple inches off the ground. "The jig is up. Either you come peacefully, or I can put you out of your misery right here."

The salarian scowled and reached for his gun. He didn't even get close before slumping over as a gunshot rang through the room. Garrus had his pistol pressed against the doctor's stomach, blood beginning to leak out of the sides. Garrus stood for a moment before throwing the body to the wall behind the desk. After looking at the dead salarian for a second, he turned back to me.

"Thank you, Shepard. For everything. I understand what you mean now about being blinded by revenge. I'm ready to do what I must for the mission."

I smiled and put my hand on his shoulder. "Good to hear, Garrus. Let's leave this ship, we've got to continue on our mission."

The turian nodded curtly and followed me out of the room, only stopping to take one last look at the one man who managed to escape his grasp.

* * *

><p><strong>POV Garvil<strong>

A day after Dr. Saleon's death, I sat with Kaidan at the mess hall table. We had been talking about our training, combat experience, the like. I was still guilty over having to leave Ashley behind on Virmire as well as losing both of my parents, but time had healed part of the pain. Kaidan was the most relatable person on the ship, being a fellow human biotic with complications related to it. I went numb occasionally for a few seconds, but I was used to it for the most part. My last three fingers on my left hand and various toes were permanently numb, and I had been told there was no way to regain feeling in them.

I flexed my hand and sighed sadly.

"How you holding up, Marcus? Losing your mom and disowning your dad has to be tough," Kaidan told me, noticing my distant expression.

I nodded unhelpingly. "I'll get through it. It's funny, Kaidan. When I was a kid, I've only ever wanted to be in the military." I stared at the wall above and to the right of Kaidan, lost in my thoughts. "When I was told I was going to be trained to be a biotic, I wasn't sure what to think. I was going to be in the military, but I was afraid to leave as well. I had a solid future where I was, and I had no guarantee of ever getting anywhere when I left. It took a few years of training before I was able to graduate." Kaidan raised his eyebrows. Obviously this was a surprise to him.

"Wait, you said it took you several years?" I nodded. Kaidan leaned back and put his hand on his head in disbelief. Shaking his head, he added with "Usually it only takes a year. The longest I've known anyone being in biotics training was a few months shy of two."

I shrugged. "I didn't notice people leaving, since I wasn't paying attention to them. I was an adult, which made me different in their eyes."

Kaidan leaned forward on his elbows. "You were an adult when you were trained? That would explain part of it."

I raised an eyebrow. "Biotics are strange when applied to humans," Kaidan started, shaking his head in confusion. "It's something that is more easily trained the younger you are, but the strength makes it even more difficult. If it took you more than two years..."

I rolled my eyes. "The academy wasn't even sure I should have had an implant installed. Eventually they decided on the new L4 class implants, the ones that are safer but less powerful." I slammed my fist into the desk, making Kaidan jump. "Fat load of shit that turned out to be. Now I'm stuck with permanent nerve damage that punishes me when I use my power."

He nodded and put his hand on my outstretched first. "If there's anything that can be done to help with that, I'm sure someone will find it. Until then, try not to do too much damage to yourself. Despite what you may think, people here respect you. Hell, I don't think I've ever seen you and Tali in the same room without her staring at you when you weren't looking."

"So you know," I stated in a monotone voice. Kaidan grinned.

"Garrus knows too. He's the one who initially pointed it out to me. Marcus, I'm not surprised either. I know what happened on Therum, and she does too. Quarians aren't exactly well respected by the other races, so I don't think she's used to anyone willing to harm themselves for her sake."

I stood up. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I'm going to go sleep."

Kaidan nodded and stood up as well. "She's fragile, Marcus. Don't hurt her."

I waved him off and walked to the sleeper pods. I was starting to get a headache about what we had discussed, and all I wanted right now was to sleep it off.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm getting close to the end of the Mass Effect 1 section of this. I'm planning on chapter 14 being the final segment of it: Noveria, the Citadel, and Ilos/Battle of the Citadel. I've been wanting to go ahead to the second game in the series since I began, since it sounds like the most fun part to write about.**

**EDIT: Fixed a couple things. **


	12. The Rachni Return

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect and its characters. I can only take credit for the OC's and changes in the plot.**

* * *

><p><strong>POV Shepard<strong>

I stood next to Joker as we began the landing sequence on Noveria.

"SSV Normandy to Approach Control. Requesting a vector and a berth, over." Joker gave his most professional voice, something he obviously didn't do very much.

The response was done in a suspicious tone. Not surprising based on the people stationed there. "Normandy, your arrival was not scheduled. Our defense grid is tracking you. State your business."

Joker rolled his eyes. "Council business. We have a spectre on board."

"Permission granted." The male voice sounded even more suspicious, like it was impossible for a spectre to want to come to Noveria. "We will have people there to confirm your identity. If confirmation cannot be established, your vessel will be impounded."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. Joker turned to me and smirked. "Fun group, here. I might have to come here for my next vacation."

I couldn't help but chuckle as I turned to the airlock. Jentha and Liara were already there; the former smoking and smirking as usual, the latter giving me a small smile as I joined them. We ran out of the airlock when the pressure equalized, thrusting us into the cold docking bay. Based on what I saw through the windows, the outside of the facility was far worse. The three of us travelled around the edge of the docking bay, the path constructed to get to the main facility. We jogged for a full minute before being stopped by the squad sent to confirm our identity.

The asian woman stepped up and raised her hand. "That's for enough."

I put my hand in front of Jentha to stop her from trying anything stupid. She caught my glare and crossed her arms, but did nothing else. Afterwards, I crossed my arms as well. "Can I help you?"

The woman didn't even register any emotion in her face. "This is an unscheduled arrival. I need your credentials."

"I am part of the Council's Special Tactics and Reconaissance division. The name's Commander John Shepard."

She raised an eyebrow. The blonde woman next to her scoffed. "Load of horsecrap, ma'am."

The asian woman rolled her eyes. "We'll need to confirm that. Also, firearms are not permitted on Noveria. I must request you leave them on your ship or we will be forced to confiscate them."

Jentha laughed, pulling out her shotgun, pointing it directly at the face of the first woman. "Don't try it, scum."

In response, the three other guards as well as the blonde raised their weapons, facing it at us. Liara and I raised our own.

I shook my head. "We're not here to cause trouble, but we must keep our weapons."

Suddenly, the loudspeaker came on. "Captain Matsuo, stand down. We've confirmed their identity. Spectres and their companions are allowed to carry weapons here."

Matsuo looked down as the woman on the loudspeaker talked, then looked back at us, motioning the rest of the guards to lower their weapons. "You are clear to proceed, spectre. I hope the rest of your visit is less confrontational. Parasini-san will meet you upstairs."

The blonde scowled at us. "Behave yourselves," she said as a threat. Jentha laughed, and I glared at her again to make sure she didn't do anything stupid. The guards dispersed and we were granted access to the outpost. We went through the door and walked up the stairs to what looked like a check-in center. There were several small drones with what looked like scanners. We passed one and an alarm started going off.

The woman in what looked like a pink jumpsuit stood behind the counter, looking at us. I walked up to her and leaned on the counter.

"Ignore the weapon scanners. I am Gianna Parasini, administrator to Administrator Anoleis. We apologize for the incident in the docking bay."

I nodded in understanding. "Security is tight here."

She shrugged. "We have to protect the interests of all the companies present on the planet. I hope you understand that the captain was only doing her job." I crossed my arms. "Anyway, one of my duties is orintation of new arrivals. Do you have any questions?"

I nodded. "Has anyone unusual passed through here recently?"

She thought a moment before responding. "Unusual?" she began. "Yes, an Asari Matriarch passed through here a few weeks ago. Matriarch Benezia."

I heard Liara inhale sharply. So she was still here. "Can I speak with her?"

She shook her head. "She left for the Peak 15 research facility a few days ago. To the best of my knowledge, she's still there. If you want to go to Peak 15, you'll have to ask Administrator Anoleis for clearance to leave the port."

I nodded. "Where can I find Anoleis?"

She motioned to the elevator down a set of stairs on the other side of the one we came from. "His office is on the main level. It's to the left at the top of the elevator."

I took a step back. "I understand. Can we go now?"

She smiled and bowed in response. "Of course. If you have any questions, you can ask me in front of the administrators office." With that, she turned and left the same way she came from behind the counter.

I turned to Liara. She had a distant look. When she noticed I was looking at her, she said "Shepard. We have to find her."

I put my hand on her shoulder. "We will, Liara. We just have to get to the resesarch facility first." She nodded and we walked to the elevator. After exiting, we walked along the edge of the main floor to the left of the elevator, getting strange looks from the various people standing around talking to each other. I noticed the weapon scanners didn't go off when we passed anymore; apparantly we had been excluded from the algorithm.

We entered the first door we reached, which led to a long room with Parasini at the end of it. She smiled at us and opened a transmitter. "Mr. Anoleis. Commander Shepard is asking to see you, sir."

Anoleis snapped back, "Right, fine. Come in." He said his syllables quickly, like he didn't have the time to talk. Parasini motioned to the wall behind her. We went behind the wall and entered the room. A lone salarian was behind a desk.

"You will excuse me if I don't stand up," he told me, obviously unimpressed by me. "I have no time to entertain refugees from that urban blight called Earth."

I preemptively motioned Jentha to leave the room, giving her a death glare. She rolled her eyes and gave a grunt of frustration, then left the room roughly. I turned back to Anoleis. "I need to get to Peak 15. An Asari matriarch, Benezia, is there."

The politician shook his head. "I'm afraid you cannot. Peak 15 is a private facility in the Skadi mountains. Regardless, there is a blizzard in the area. Shuttle access has been cut off."

I crossed my arms as a small threat. "I'll drive there."

The salarian exhaled in exasperation. "Cut off," he said again with finality. "The roads are not suitable for travel. Don't make an issue of this, Shepard."

I shook my head in disgust and turned around, leaving him to his work. I walked back out, but was stopped by Parasini when I went past her desk.

"Shepard, Mr. Anoleis isn't the only one with a pass to leave Hanshan."

I walked up to her and raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like an offer."

She leaned forward and began talking, looking around in fear. "Talk to Lorik Qui'in. He's in the hotel bar. Can't say more. Not in the earshot of Mr. Anoleis."

I nodded and grinned at her. "Thanks for the tip. I'll go talk to him right now."

She waved as I left the office. I walked around the main level until I saw a door with a giant sign of a cup and fork over it. The three of us entered the elevator and stood there as the elevator moved. Elevators were all so god damned slow. I didn't understand it.

We walked out when the door opened, looking around to see if we could find Qui'in. We found a lone turian sitting at a table dressed in official looking closed. I walked up to him slowly. He looked up when we got close and motioned to the other chairs at the table. "Afternoon. Sit down, have a drink. What can I do for you?"

I sat down and leaned on my elbows, clasping my hands together. "Are you Lorik Qui'in?"

He nodded. "Lorik Qui'in, manager of Synthetic Insights, although only in name for the moment. Mr. Anoleis closed my office. He claimed to be 'investigating reports of corruption'. Anoleis is an interesting man. He's become incredibly wealthy ever since he took direct control of rents."

I smiled knowingly. "I sense a connection, Mr. Qui'in."

"Indeed. I found evidence of his actions. They're ransacking my office to get it."

My smile grew. "I heard you have a garage pass. I need to get to Peak 15."

He immediately picked up on my offer. "You're offering to retrieve that evidence for my garage pass" I nodded. "If you get that evidence, you can have my garage pass. I will also throw in a sum of credits. Take this disc. It connects to my console. Just slip it in and all you need will be downloaded to it. However, there's one other small snag."

I raised an eyebrow. "What would that be?"

He leaned forward on his arms. "Violence against Anoleis' thugs may be necessary. He has some of Hanshan's security team going through my office. He is paying them under the table. Ms. Matsuo is unaware of their outside employment."

I nodded. "If I have to, I will. I'd prefer not to, if possible."

Qui'in shrugged. "On the main level, take a left and go down the hallway at the end. The elevator to my office is the first one you see. Oh, and if it comes to violence, please try to keep bloodstains off the carpets."

I rolled my eyes while Jentha laughed. We left the hotel bar, going back up the slow as balls elevator. When we reached the top, we followed Qui'in's directions to his office. We reached the top and entered the room, where a guard immediately walked up to us.

"Freeze! Hanshan security. This office is sealed."

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. "Qui'in gave me a pass in."

The soldier shook her head in disbelief, then her face furrowed in anger. "You're working with Qui'in? He's under investigation."

I sighed in exasperation and took a step forward. "Anoleis is paying you to sack his office. Does Captain Matsuo know you're here?"

She visibly reeled back in surprise, as if she was afraid of the consequences. "I'm not the one who wants Qui'in. Anoleis has a varren up his ass about the guy." She sighed and took a second before adding, "Tell you what. You pretend you don't see us, and we'll pretend we don't see you."

I smiled and gave a curt nod in response. She walked off, continuing her investigation. Two more guards walked into view as we stepped inside, giving out a cry and raising their weapons. Immediately, one fell over dead. Jentha moved her sniper rifle to the other and shot the other in the face, overheating her own weapon. We methodically cleared the room of guards except for the one we met when we entered. She simply ignored us as she went through the room, giving me a wink as I passed.

We travelled to the end of the upper level, cracking open the door to the room inside. Liara and Jentha travelled through the room while I inserted the disc. A second later, the disc popped out and I grabbed it, slipping it into a secure section of my armor. As the three of us left, we were stopped by the blonde guard we met when we first entered Noveria, as well as six extra guards.

She stepped forward and regarded us with a cold smirk. "I'm Sergeant Kaira Stirling, Elanus Risk Control Services. Anoleis would throw you offworld for what you did here. I won't. Do you know what we do to cop-killers on my world?"

Jentha stepped forward after chuckling. "You're here off bribe money while off duty. You think we should give a remote shit about you?"

Stirling's eyes became fire. "Kill them!" she exclaimed, bringing out her assault rifle. Jentha snorted and shot once, Stirling's body falling to the ground with a single groan.

Jentha stretched, as if this was hard work. "Do you want to end up like her?" Her voice carried menace, which sent chills down my spine.

The guards looked at each other, then decided their fear of Anoleis was more than fear of us. I shook my head in disbelief. Despite the body of the blonde sergeant on the ground, they decided that trying to kill us was the best option.

A minute later, we were leaving the office, leaving a mess of dead guards in our wake. We entered the elevator and exited the other side to see none other than Gianna Parasini on the other side.

She appeared to be half sarcastic as she began speaking. "Commander. There's been reports of noise in the Synthetic Insights Office. Would you happen to know anything about it?"

I picked up on her tone, shrugging. "It was probably Anoleis' thugs ripping the place apart."

She smiled, picking up on mine as well. "Meet me at the hotel bar, before you talk to Qui'in." She emphasized the word before. "I'll be waiting." She walked off, leaving us in front of the elevator.

We walked back to the bar, curious as to what Parasini could want to talk to us about. She grinned at us when we approached her.

"Let me reintroduce myself. Gianna Parasini, Noveria Internal Affairs."

I raised my eyebrow in surprise. "Why is an Internal Affairs agent here?"

Her eyes twinkled. "The Executive Board knows about Anoleis' corruption. I've been undercover for six months, looking for evidence to shut him down. I want you to convince Lorik Qui'in to testify before the board. With Anoleis gone, this planet can run profitably again."

I sighed. "I need Qui'in's garage pass to finish my mission."

She stopped me there. "If you help me with this, I'll make sure you get a pass. Look, Shepard, I don't like this either. You spectres play fast and loose with the law. That's bad for business."

I rubbed my temples. "All right, you've convinced me. I'll talk to Qui'in and see what I can do."

"Thank you. You know where I work. Come see me when Qui'in is ready to play ball."

I walked back to Qui'in, who looked at me expectedly. "Have you recovered the data?"

I sat down and brought out the disc. "I finished the job, but an Internal Affairs agent contacted me. She wants you to testify against Anoleis."

He sighed in exasperation. "You have my property, so now you want to tell me how to use it? I have no interest in a public spectacle."

I didn't back down. Without any hesitation, I continued. "Everyone's chafing under Anoleis' extortion." I motioned towards everyone in the bar, including them in my example. I turned back to him, grinning. "You could even end up a hero."

He wasn't convinced. "My employers rely on the goodwill of the Executive Board to work here."

"The board is already investigating him," I responded in my most reasonable voice. "They're concerned about what will happen if he stays in charge here."

Qui'in sat thinking for a few moments. With a defeated sigh, he said, "All right. It's obvious I cannot dissuade you. Very well, I will testify. Make whatever arrangements you need with your contact. I will be here."

We left the bar, leaving the turian to his drinks. Liara gave him a strange look, as if she wasn't sure this was the best thing to do in the situation. I sighed and led the way back to Anoleis' office.

Parasini was waiting for us at her desk. "Spectre Have you given any consideration to my offer?"

I nodded. "Qui'in is on board."

She sighed in relief. "That's a world of stress off my back. I'll need the evidence for safe transport." I nodded and gave her the disc. She smirked in response. "I didn't think you'd help me, spectre. I guess some of you can be all right."

I nodded, ignoring the jab. "So, how about a garage pass?"

She smiled, grabbing what looked like an identification card off of her desk. "I got this while you were working on Qui'in. Be careful over there, Shepard." She smiled mischevously. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an arrest to make. I wish I had time to change into something. Skirts aren't easy to move in."

I decided to stay while Parasini went into the back room. Folding my arms, I heard the salarian administrator's yells of protest. Parasini walked back into view with Anoleis in front of her, the latter with his arms pinned behind his back.

"I'll make sure you never work in this sector again!" His eyes locked on me. "You! Spectre! Arrest this bitch!" He was clearly enraged. I simply smirked back, making him even more angry.

Parasini rolled her eyes. "You have the right to remain silent. I suggest you do it." She looked back at me as she escorted Anoleis out of the room. "I'll see you around the galaxy, Shepard. I owe you a beer." They exited from view, leaving the three of us alone in the large room. I laughed for a moment before following. We made our way to the same hallway the Synthetic Insights office was located in, going down the hallway to the end. Another guard was stationed at the end.

"The garage is restricted at this time. Do you have a pass?"

I handed her my pass, watching as she inspected it. She nodded, handing it back. "That's a genuine pass. Drive safely, sir. The weather's supposed to be pretty bad in the Aleutsk valley."

I nodded respectfully as the door opened. I walked through, but stopped when I saw a geth stalker shoot itself up to the ceiling.

Liara gasped. "Benezia must have smuggled them here!" I nodded to her as I brought out my assault rifle.

There were three geth platforms in the room, and all of them went down quickly. We put away our weapons and heard multiple pairs of feet sprinting to our location. Captain Matsuo entered the room and saw the dead geth platforms in the room. Eyes wide open in shock, she stated, "Wha-What are these things?" She turned around to the guards with her. "Fan out and secure the area. No one gets in or out."

She turned to us. "Thank you for taking out those geth. I assume you got clearance to leave Hanshan? You should go now, before I'm forced to stop you from leaving. Good hunting, spectre." She ran off, back in the direction she came from. I scratched my head and walked towards one of the Mako tanks in the room. We climbed in and drove out of the port into the cold winter storm.

* * *

><p>We entered the Peak 15 facility, having just driven across the winding path of the Aleutsk Valley. There were several geth turrets in the path, proving that Benezia's influence was around. Jentha had a field day with the gun on the turrets, which reminded me of Wrex.<p>

The first big room after we entered had a lot of geth inside. We methodically cleared them out, which took more time due to the prime and several destroyers. For some reason, there were krogan troops here as well. Obviously, the Virmire facility had been successful, at least in part, with sending krogan troops to other locations.

"User Alert. All Peak 15 facilities have suffered a great deal of damage. Biohazard materials present through facility. Virtual Intelligence user interface offline." The station's VI broadcasted through the entire facility.

I stretched my neck and led the way through a door on the outer side. "Getting the VI back online seems like a good place to start with finding Benezia down here. Let's go, team."

We explored several empty room, then found what looked like an airlock with a turret facing towards the inside of the facility.

Liara put on her thinking pose as she stared at it. "Why would they face a turret towards the inside?"

I sighed. "They want to keep their people in as much as they want to keep intruders out." She gave me a strange look, but I ignored it as we filed into the elevator. We exited to a room that had snow all over the ground. Obviously there had been a leak. I didn't spend much time dwelling on it, as more hostile geth were in the room.

After we took them out, we heard a noise. Liara looked around, confused. "What is that?"

She had no earlier said that, than a loud crash was heard. Suddenly, a bunch of small drones began filtering from every direction. We shot down most of them easily enough, but some of them reached us and exploded, coating us with toxic gas. I coughed at the stench, but continued firing. Eventually, the drone swam stopped, but not before we heard a screech. Turning towards the source of the sound, we found what looked like a giant bug. We shot it down without any hesitation.

The three of us stood over the bug. Jentha began with, "I know this thing. Looks like one of those damn Rachni."

I gave her a surprised look. "Rachni? Aren't they extinct?"

Liara gasped. "Marcus' story! He said Cerberus was trying to clone Rachni! Binary Helix owns this facility, right? What if they're working with Cerberus?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter right now We'll figure it out later. For right now, let's keep moving." The two of them nodded and we continued through the facility.

Another elevator ride brought us to the VI's primary core. After dispatching of more Rachni, we turned on what looked like a small power junction. The same VI voice popped up with, "Critical startup error. Virtual Intelligence user interface offline. Manual boot required."

I rubbed my temples and walked forwards towards a large circular device. I activated the elevator to go down into the emergency restart area for the VI. For some reason, I had to complete a tower of hanoi game to restart the interface. I completed that quickly enough, which caused the elevator to bring me back up to the normal level. I stepped back as a holographic woman appeared where I had just been standing.

"It looks like you're trying to restore this facility. Would you like help?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you the virtual intelligence that runs this place?"

"This system is monitored to respond to the name, 'Mira.' May I ask your name?"

I nodded to the hologram. "Commander Shepard, Council Spectre.

"One moment, please. Council authority confirmed. You are entitled to Secure Access of all systems. Please note that queries regarding corporate secrets require Priveleged Access. Priveleged Access is reserved for Binary Helix executives. This system is ready to process queries. You may access me at any holographic interface within Peak 15."

I sighed in relief. "I need to find Matriarch Benezia."

"Lady Benezia departed on the passenger tramway to the Rift Station subsidary labs."

The VI continued with various errors. "User Alert! The tramway is currently inoperable."

_Why can't things just work out for once?_ I thought in annoyance. "What's the situation here?"

"One moment please, diagnostics in progress."

The VI stood there, staring at us. Suddenly, it began talking again. "Critical Failure: Main reactor shut down in accordance with emergency containment procedures. Manual restart required. Critical Failure: Landline connections are disabled. Passenger tram systems are offline. Report complete. Do you have an additional systems query?"

I nodded. "Do you know why the reactor was shut down?"

"I'm sorry, but I was offline at the time. Shutdown would occur if reactor breach seems likely, or in the case of catastrophic laboratory containment failure. Emergency guidelines suggest the frigid environment will kill biological contagions. It may also damage mechanical ones."

I nodded. "What do I need to do to get the power back on?"

"The valves to the Helium-3 fuel line must be opened. This can be done at the controls on the reactor assembly proper."

I committed that information to memory. "What are the landlines, and why are they disabled?"

"The landlines connect my mainframes here at Central Station to the various sub-facilities of Peak 15. This allows the crew to remotely access my databases from the comfort and security of their labs. When emergency protocols were implemented in the hot labs, the cabling was automatically ejected."

I nodded, having been told all the information I needed to get the trams back online. "I'm done for right now, Mira."

"Very well, Commander. Logging you out."

I turned and walked through the path behind the core. Mira's voice rang through the facility, the same errors that she had explained to me in full. _That's going to get annoying real quick,_ I thought in annoyance, pushing the voice out of my brain. The elevator in the back led to the roof, where various Rachni were guarding the landline. We took care of them easily enough before repairing the landline.

With that out of the way, we went back down the elevator to the VI Core, walking past it towards where we came from. This time, we took a left. The elevator led to a small room attached to a large room by both edges. A Mira terminal was in the small room, but we ignored it for now. We cleared out the room, then found the intersection of both paths. The fuel line terminal was in the direct middle of the room, and we easily fixed them.

We returned to the Mira terminal and turned it on. The holographic woman appeared before our eyes.

"Connected to subsidary facilities. How may I assist you?"

I crossed my arms. "What's this about loose contaminants? You mentioned those before."

"Dangerous biological agents are present in the tramway decomtamination chamber. The tram station has been sealed in the interest of crew safety. Activation of the failsafe plasma jets is recommended prior to access."

I rubbed my temples. This entire process of turning everything back on in this system was getting on my nerves. "How do I activate the failsafe system?"

"Controls for the failsafe systems are located in the security checkpoint outside decontamination. User Alert! The failsafe system is currently inoperable."

I sighed, frustration starting to get the better of me. "What would it take to get the decon failsafes operating again?"

"There is a hardware fault in the control system. This can be repaired on-site with a standard omni-tool."

I took a deep breath. "That's all I need right now."

I didn't even wait for Mira to log me out. I simply took the elevator back up to the VI Core. This time, we went straight and into the Tram's elevator. We went through the hallway to the locked door where the 'contaminants' were located. I had to stop myself from hitting something when I realized that the 'contaminants' were simply Rachni. I didn't care anymore, and simply unlocked the door to the room. We cleared out the Rachni and continued to the tram.

I sighed a breath of relief as we entered the tram. The ride to the other end was uneventful. I was sitting down with Liara next to me, trying to relax before we had to meet Benezia. I stood up when the door opened, and we walked out. There was only a single path of unlocked doors, and we followed them until we met what appeared to be a military garrison. The one standing in the open said, "Stand down!" when we approached.

He walked up to me and sighed in relief. "Sorry for the cold welcome. We couldn't be sure what was on the tram. Look. You're human, and that's enough for me not to shoot. I'd still like to know who you are, though."

I nodded, understanding. He looked to be stressed out. "I'm Shepard, a Council Spectre.

His eyes opened wide, but his voice remained steady. "Well, then. I won't look a heavily-armed horse in the mouth. The aliens overrun the hot labs last week. Only Han Olar got out, and he ain't all there anymore. The first we knew, they were clawing into my command post. We had a lot more staff back then."

I put my hand on his shoulder in reassurance. "You were taken by surprise and had civilians to protect. You did a good job, Captain."

He shook his head. "Sure doesn't feel like it. The board sent an Asari to clean up the mess. She went to the hot labs yesterday. Haven't heard from her since."

My heart skipped a beat. We now knew where she was. "We're here for the Asari. Don't worry, Captain. I won't let civilians die here."

He sat down in a chair a few steps behind him. "All I can do is hold out here and try to keep them safe. There's an emergency elevator out by the trams. This card will let you activate it. It goes to the hot labs. Good luck, Shepard."

I nodded and we trekked back to the tram. The first locked door we had come across when we entered opened when I swiped the card across the access terminal. We entered the elevator and stepped out at the bottom to find a volus standing in the middle of the room. He was visibly shaking when we approached.

"You're here to find out about them, aren't you." He sounded terrified and depressed at the same time.

I nodded. "You mean those things out there?"

"Yes. I'm the only survivor from the hot lab, you know."

"Tell me more about them."

He sighed before beginning. "They found a Rachni egg in a derelict ship, just waiting since the last battles. They brought it here-"

That was when I first noticed the two other scientists in the room. The turian took a step forward while the human watched. "Shut up!" he screamed at the Volus. "God, do you want to get us killed?"

The volus turned to them. "I don't have any control over who lives or dies here. Do you?"

The turian sighed in response. "If you're going to be crazy, be the silent kind."

Han Olar shook his head. "Crazy? I'm sane. By god... I'm sane."

I hesitated before responding, then crossed my arms. "Could Benezia have survived in the hot labs?"

The volus shrugged. "Maybe. The specimens are sensitive to biotics."

I decided to take a different route. "Tell me what you know. I'll make sure your survival means something."

He didn't bite. "You think I want absolution? There is none, human."

I sighed. "All right, I'll leave."

Han Olar's only response was a half hearted, "Yeah." I ignored him and trekked to the back of the room, where another turian was guarding a door. He looked at us suspiciously as we approached.

"Hey, you're not part of the crew!" It sounded like an accusation.

I folded my arms. "I'm Commander Shepard. I'm a Spectre, sent by the Council."

He rolled his eyes. "There aren't any human spectres." He waved us off. "Look, plague doesn't care who you are. This lab is under quarantine."

I raised an eyebrow, but got the hint and went back to the camp where the Captain was at. The three of us entered the medical lab where the doctor was at. He let slip about a bioweapon contained in the hot labs, and that it's not viable anymore due to the toxin breaking down after a short time. He also commented that Benezia was in the secure lab, and that he would let me enter the maintenence area to meet her there if I helped him with the cure. I talked to the Captain and offered to solve the toxin problem. He eventually gave in and allowed me access to the laboratory I could synthesize the cure from. I smiled my thanks and returned to where the turian guarded the hot labs door.

He recognized me and sighed. "What do you want?"

"I have Ventralis' permission to enter."

He nodded. "He also said you have to prove you're not contaminated to get out." He sighed. "You can go in. If you want a death wish, you could've just asked for a watch on the barricade."

I rolled my eyes and opened the door. The next room was another extension of the room we were in before. The door closed and I heard the lock go into place behind us. I walked up to the desk on the far side and began making the cure. Using the instructions from the medical officer, I made the cure easily enough. Before I could turn around, I heard a voice behind me.

"Your mission ends here, Shepard."

I turned to find the asari I had seen several times in front of the medical bay. "So you work for Benezia." I crossed my arms.

She laughed without any humor in her voice. "I was ordered to kill you if I got the chance, and here you are. Trapped in this lab. Weapons free!"

She was escorted by four shock troopers, which were no match for our assault rifles, shotguns, and biotics. We walked up to her when she was the one left standing, kneeling and holding her hand to a wound on her side. Jentha grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up. The asari stared back in fear. Jentha spat in her face and threw her to the side, her neck snapping on impact. Liara stared at the body in shock, while I gave Jentha a disapproving glare.

With only one further moment standing in the room in annoyance, I led the squad back through the hot labs door. Han Olar walked up to us when we approached.

"They came out of there." He pointed to one of the locked doors. The sign above showed the maintenence area, which was the entire point of making the cure.

I nodded. "The synthetics?"

Han Olar's response was, "Benezia brought them with her."

I crossed my arms. "I need access to the maintenence area."

"A project lead like Dr. Cohen would have access. Go to him in the medical bay."

I nodded my thanks, even though I was going to anyway. I again took the path back up to Dr. Cohen. He told me about the guards being on edge since I arrived, and gave me the pass into the maintenence area. I thanked him and left the medical bay, sincerely hoping the cure worked on the scientists. The previously locked door in Han Olar's room opened with the doctor's card, and we entered the snow-filled hallway. The hal connected back to the primary halls of the facility. We only had to travel down two more before we finally met Benezia. It was a large square room, a small path connecting four small square platforms on each corner, the nearest connector extending into a raised platform where she stood.

She laughed as she turned towards us. Her eyes betrayed pure malice. "You do not know the privelege of being a mother. There is power in creation. To shape a life. Turn it towards happiness or despair."

She turned her back to us, and I realized why. The creature before her inside a glass cage was a giant Rachni. Common sense screamed 'Rachni Queen.'

"Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies. I won't be moved by sympathy, no matter who you bring to this confrontation." She stared directly at Liara with that last statement, causing her to gasp.

I stepped forward. "Liara's here because she wants to be. Not because I asked her to."

Benezia laughed. "Indeed? What have you told him about me, Liara?"

She shook her head and took a step back. "What could I say, mother? That you're evil? How to kill you? What could I say?"

Benezia walked to the path and stared us down. "Have you faced an Asari commando unit before? Few humans have."

I gave her a disgusted look. "I can't believe you'd kill your own daughter."

She waved it off. "I should've been stricter with her." She walked back to the raised platform, other Asari taking her place.

Benezia was channeling an impenetrable barrier on the raised platform, so I focused my attention on the commandos. There were several of them, but over time we took them all down. Benezia summoned geth shock troopers easily enough, although I noticed her barrier weakening. The next wave was more asari commandos and geth shock troopers.

I stepped on the last shock trooper and looked up at Benezia. She sat without a barrier, weakened by the continued effort of keeping up the barrier and summoning more troops. We walked up to her, folding our arms.

"I... will not... betray..." she groaned, struggling with herself. Suddenly, she stood up elegantly and stared us down.

"You must listen," she began in a desperate voice. "Saren still whispers in my mind. I can fight his compulsions, but the indoctrination is strong. I locked away part of my mind for a time where I could help destroy him, but it won't last long."

I raised my eyebrow. "So you could attack me again?"

She nodded. "Yes, but it wouldn't be my will, Shepard. People are not themselves around Saren. They come to idolize him, worship him." She took a deep breath, obviously still fighting the indoctrination. "The key is Sovereign, his flagship. It is a dreadnought of incredible size, and its power is extraordinary."

I nodded knowingly. I figured that out well enough on Virmire. "Where did he get it?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. The geth didn't build it, the technology is far too advanced for them. The longer you stay aboard, the more Saren's will seems correct. You sit at his feet and smile as his words pour over you." She shuddered. "It's subtle at first. I thought I was strong enough to resist. Instead, I became a willing slave, eager to serve."

She shuddered again, stronger this time. "I was sent here to find the location of the Mu Relay. The position was lost thousands of years ago."

I scratched my head, surprised. "Someone on Noveria found it?"

She nodded. "The Rachni discovered it two thousand years ago, since they inhabited that section of the galaxy. The Rachni share memories across generations. The queens inherit the knowledge of their mothers. I took the location of the relay from this queen behind me." She looked down with a guilty expression. "I was not gentle."

"You can still make it right. Give me the location of the relay."

She struggled with herself, dropping to her knees. After a few seconds, she stood up uncertainly again. "I was not myself. I... I should've been stronger. I transcribed the data to an OSD. Please, take it." She ran up to me, pressing the drive into my hand. I slipped it into my armor.

Benezia stepped back roughly, only stopping when she reached the glass railing behind her. "You... have to stop... me. He's... taking control. You should..."

A single gunshot rang out and Benezia slumped back, leaving a blood trail in her wake from a wound in her chest. I saw Jentha lower her pistol, staring at the asari in contempt. I hugged Liara, allowing her to cry on my armor. After a few moments, she broke away, smiling at me in thanks. I patted her on the shoulder and walked to the console. The Rachni Queen looked at me. As I looked at the console, suddenly I heard Liara cry out. I turned around with my pistol raised and saw one of the asari commandos shuddering with a blank expression on its face. It ignored me and walked to where Benezia stood slumped over before turning around.

The asari commando spoke in small chunks. "This one. Serves as our voice. We cannot sing. Not in these low spaces. Your musics are colorless."

I scratched my head in confusion. "Musics?"

"Your way of communicating is strange. Flat. It does not color the air. When we speak, one moves all. We are the mother. We sing for those left behind. The children you thought silenced. We are Rachni."

"How are you speaking through her?"

"Our kind sing through touchings of thought. We pluck the strings, and the other understands. She is weak to urging. She has colors we have no names for. But she is ending. Her music is bittersweet. It is beautiful. The children we birthed were stolen from us before they could learn to sing. They are lost to silence. End their suffering. They cannot be saved. They can only cause harm as they are."

I sighed. "If you're sure they can't be saved."

"It is lamentable. But necessary. Do what you must. Before you deal with our children, we stand before you. What will you sing? Will you release us? Are we to fade away once more?"

Jentha walked up to the console. "There's acid tanks on the sides of the cage. I'm going to release them. Letting the Rachni go free again will only threaten the galaxy in the future."

I put my hand on her shoulder. "Stand down, Jentha. We're releasing them."

She slapped me on the face and I stumbled backwards into the railing. "Do you have any idea what that would do?" she screeched. "We cannot risk it," she added menacingly.

I stood up, fire in my eyes. "You would disobey your commanding officer." I put as much malice as I could into my voice.

She stepped up to me. "I'm going to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life." She pushed my into the railing, pressing her pistol against my stomach. Suddenly, she grunted and fell over. I saw Liara with her biotics activated. She looked at Jentha in fear, but the air had been knocked out of her lungs. I pressed my foot against her chest and looked down into her face.

"Listen up, Jentha. You've been a pain in the ass since we picked you up. Next time we're on the Citadel, you're leaving. You're not welcome on the Normandy anymore."

I radioed Joker and told him we would be coming. Then I turned to Liara. "Immobilize her and bring her back to the Normandy. I'm going to join you once I done doing what the queen asked me to." She nodded. I went to the terminal and released the tank.

"Thank you. We will remember. We will sing of your forgiveness to our children." The asari fell as the glass cage raised up through the ceiling. I turned around and saw that Liara had bound Jentha up and was immobilizing her with her biotics as well.

"I'll meet you on the Normandy, Liara. I'm going to end the Rachni on this base."

I walked into elevator to the hot labs, exiting on the other side. An insane human inside was all that remained of the crew. He told me how to arm a neutron purge that would kill the remaining Rachni. A rachni soldier killed him before he could finish, but I cleared it out and Mira walked me through the rest.

The purge armed, I walked back to the entrance to the initial room. Unfazed at the sheer amount of rachni troops in the room, I sprinted across to the elevator. I slumped on the far side as it went up, smiling as I heard the several blasts of the purge.

With my mission on this planet complete, I returned to the Normandy.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Whew. I don't remember a whole lot about Noveria, but I hope it doesn't detract from the chapter too much. Up next is the Citadel!**


	13. Calm Before the Storm

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect and its characters. All I own is the OC's and changes in the plotline.**

* * *

><p><strong>POV Garvil<strong>

I leaned against one of the walls in the CIC with my eyebrows raised when I saw Liara return from Noveria. I had known that Shepard took her and Jentha along, but I wasn't expecting Jentha to return in binds and biotically paralyzed. Liara shook her head at me when I gave her a questioning look, basically telling me to save what I was going to say. I shrugged and simply waited until the two women disappeared into the elevator for Shepard to show up.

It took several minutes, but he showed up at last. He looked exhausted after the mission, and could only manage a small grin when I smiled at him. I walked with him to the mess hall, where we both tore open a can of military rations.. He sat down roughly in a chair with a groan, while I sat across from him.

I was slightly surprised when he began talking to me. "Marcus, I'm not sure I can take much more of this."

I stared at him with a shocked expression on my face. "Commander? What do you mean?"

He sighed and put his can down, staring me directly in the eyes. "This whole Saren business. I've had to make a lot of hard decisions today. I'm getting tired."

I put my hand on his. "Commander, you're the only one that can pull this off." He looked up at me with an unreadable gaze. "Look at what you've already done. You saved Liara and me from a crumbling ruin, saved a colony from both the geth and the thorian, defeated Benezia, and helped everyone with their own problems. How many other people can do that?"

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "It's not easy, Marcus. It could easily have been Ashley who was in my position. She was the one who initially activated the beacon."

I stood up roughly, making him jump. I towered over him, not giving him a chance to recover.. "That's bullshit and you know it, Shepard. There's one thing you have that I've yet to see anyone else have. No one else I've ever been under the command of has the fire that makes people want to follow you into hell itself. That's why you're here, not because of some bullshit beacon. We're getting close to the end of this, Commander. If you can't make it to the end, maybe you should give up command of the ship, give up your spectre status. If you can't get to the end, then you should give up humanity's best chance to make a good impression on the rest of the galaxy."

Shepard's mouth was slightly agape by the time I finished my speech. I sat down, giving him a deep stare. He looked down and sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's what happened on Noveria that has me on edge. Marcus, Jentha attacked me after we killed Benezia." I reeled backwards. Assaulting a commanding officer was grounds for immediate termination. He looked up at me and stood up as well. "We're going to the Citadel. The council hasn't been biting about sending help with us to Ilos, so I want to see what I can do in person."

I bit my lip nervously. "Shepard. Can I make a request?" He nodded. "When we go to Ilos, I want to be there."

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Are you all right Marcus?"

"I won't let my personal feelings get in the way of the mission. Besides, Commander." I crossed my arms and grinned. "I haven't truly proved myself like everyone else has."

He chuckled and clasped my hand. "All right. You got it."

At that moment, Joker came over the intercom. "Uh, Commander. The Council just sent a message. They're ready to fight back against Saren."

Shepard's eyes went wide as he activated his omni-tool's transmitter. "Excellent. Joker, get us there quick. I want the Normandy in the front of the fleet."

"Aye aye, sir."

Shepard sat down with a big grin on his face. I smiled as well as I followed suit. _This is it,_ I thought, and the weight of it truly hit me. _We're on the final legs of our mission. The Council's going to go to Ilos and race Saren to the Conduit._

Kaidan walked up to us from the stairs, taking the seat next to me. "This is it. The Council is finally taking action."

Shepard laughed. "We're going to the Citadel right now. Hopefully we can do more than just get the Council to go to Ilos. This isn't actually even close to over." His entire demeaner suddenly changed. He stood up. "This isn't over until the Reapers are defeated. Saren's not even a small fraction of the true threat."

He walked away before either of us could respond, leaving his untouched can on the table. I shrugged when Kaidan looked at me, so he simply shook his head and left as well. I grabbed my own can and hurriedly ate the rest of it. When I finished, I grabbed the other unopened can and placed it back in the cupboard.

I sat thinking about what Shepard had said about the reapers, completely lost in my own thoughts. I didn't even notice anyone was approaching until I heard her clear her throat. I shook my head to clear the confusion as I processed that Tali was in front of me, but then I smiled. "Hey Tali. What's up?"

She rubbed her hands together nervously. "Marcus, I've been thinking."

I nodded expectantly. She appeared to be stuck in her own thoughts. "I... I don't think it can work."

I raised an eyebrow. I had a feeling that might be the answer, but it stung all the same.

"I care about you. Really, I do. It's just..." She sighed. "I'm going to the Migrant Fleet when we're done with the mission. There's no guarantee I'll ever be able to leave, and no one from any other species is allowed to live on the flotilla. I can't waste your time." She choked up, and stood before I could even respond.

"I'm sorry," Tali said before running back where she came from. I grabbed the back of the chair and stood up, reaching a hand out. "Wait! Tali!" It was too late, she had already vanished.

I sat back down rubbing my temples. _Why does everything always have to go wrong?_ I thought bitterly, thinking about everything that had happened since I joined the Normandy. As if in answer, I felt a slight throb go through my body. I flinched at the pain my nerves was sending through, but it didn't last much longer than the initial wave.

_I need sleep,_ I said to myself. _I'll think about everything when we're on the Citadel._

* * *

><p><strong>POV Shepard<strong>

I stepped out of the Normandy alongside the rest of the squad. I decided to give everyone shore leave for the duration of our stay here, to give everyone a rest from constantly risking their lives. I went down the elevator first with Tali, Garvil, Kaidan, and Jentha. Jentha was still binded, but I untied them when we reached the bottom. I crossed my arms as she rubbed her wrists, giving me a menacing look.

I rolled my eyes. "Get out of here." She complied, scowling. We walked towards the elevator into the wards, but we were stopped by what looked like a reporter.

She smiled as she stopped in front of me. "Khalisah bint Sinan Al-Jilani, Westerlund News. Would you answer a few questions for our viewers?"

I crossed my arms in suspicion. "What kinds of questions?

"People back home have heard a lot of wild stories about you, Commander. I can give you the chance to set the record straight. What do you say?"

I folded my arms behind my back professionally. "So long as you understand that I may not be able to answer some of your questions."

She didn't back down. "I'm sure our viewers will understand." She activated her omni-tool and activated her camera drone, causing a light to shine in my face. I didn't blink.

"Humans have been trying to get the respect of the galactic community for 26 years. With that in mind, what are your feelings on being the first human spectre?"

I smiled before answering. "The spectres represent the best every species has to offer. To be among them is a great honor."

She raised an eyebrow. "Some have said that your appointment is the Council 'throwing humanity a bone.' Have you encountered any situations where the Council has asked you to place its needs before Earth's?"

I sighed inside. I wasn't liking where this interview was going. "The Council is concerned with the needs of the whole galactic community. We're part of that community now. Our needs are on their agenda, but we're one of many."

The reporter was starting to appear frustrated. "You really do believe that, don't you?"

I nodded without hesitation.

"You've been given command of an advanced human warship for your missions. Is there anything you'd like to say about it?"

I had to tread carefully here. "The Normandy was co-developed by both human and turian engineers. Its designs incorporates many innovations." I knew my next sentence would annoy her more. "All of which are classified, I'm afraid."

I was correct. "So the turians have knowledge of the Normandy that is being kept secret from the Alliance public? Do you think it was appropriate to hand the Alliance's best warship over to the Citadel?"

I couldn't stop myself from sighing in annoyance. "I wasn't aware it was 'handed over' to anyone. I'm in command, and I'm still human, at least last time I checked. Same goes for my crew."

She turned to Tali. "You travel with a Quarian, Commander?"

I nodded. "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya has been an excellent addition to my crew. I'm not about to decline assistance from anyone just because they're not human."

The reporter started becoming red in the face. "One last question, Commander. Rumors back home say you're tracking a 'Rogue Spectre' named Saren. Do you have any comment on this?"

I stared directly into her eyes as I answered. "All you need to know is that I work to benefit every species in the galactic community. Including humanity." The light from the drone turned off as it powered down.

She smirked. "Don't worry, we'll find out. The eyes of Earth are on you, Commander. Don't let us down. Thank you for your time, Commander Shepard." With that, she turned and walked away.

"Shepard, thank you," Tali told me after the reporter was out of earshot. "I wasn't expecting you to say something like that."

I smiled. "I was only speaking the truth."

At that time, Wrex, Liara, and Garrus had appeared in the elevator as well. I stepped forward and turned to everyone. "All right. You guys are free to do what you want. I'll call you guys up when we're ready to leave. Don't go too far away, I expect everyone to be here within an hour of my call."

Everyone nodded, so I dismissed them. Kaidan and Marcus stayed with me, wanting to watch me attend the Council. I smiled at the two, then led the way to the Council.

* * *

><p><strong>POV Garvil<strong>

Udina was already addressing them. Kaidan and I stayed back while Shepard walked up to Udina's side.

Udina turned and addressed him. "Good job, Shepard. Thanks to you, the Council is finally taking real action against Saren."

The Asari Councilor nodded. "The Ambassador is correct. If Saren is foolish enough to attack the Citadel, we'll be ready for him." She looked at the Turian Councilor.

He nodded and continued the speech. "We have significant patrols to every mass relay linking citadel space to the terminus systems."

Shepard stayed silent for a second. "What about Ilos? The Conduit? You're not doing anything about it?"

The Salarian Councilor had the answer to this question. "The Mu Relay is the only way to reach Ilos, and it's deep within the Terminus Systems, Commander. If we send a fleet there, the only outcome is full scale war."

Udina turned to Shepard before he could respond. His voice carried warning. "Now is the time for discretion, Commander. Saren's greatest weapon was secrecy. Exposed, he is no longer a threat. This is over."

Shepard stepped forward and raised a fist. "Don't you see what you're saying? If Saren finds the Conduit, we're all screwed! We **have **to go to Ilos!" My eyes widened at the thinly veiled passion in his voice.

The Turian Councilor saw this as well, and sighed in exasperation. "Ambassador Udina, I think Commander Shepard isn't going to let this go."

Udina shook his head and turned towards Shepard again. "There are serious political ramifications here, Shepard. Humanity has made great gains thanks to you, but now you're becoming more trouble than you're worth. Until further notice, you're grounded. We've locked out the Normandy's primary systems."

I couldn't help myself. Stepping forward, I shouted, "You bastard! You'd sell us out for your damned politics?"

Udina calmly responded, "You all have done your job, now let me do mine. It's time for you and your team to leave, Commander. This no longer concerns you. The Council can handle the rest, with my help of course."

Shepard lowered his fist, still shaking with rage. Calming his face, he slowly turned and walked back to us. He stopped when he took a single step past us. "Marcus, that wasn't necessary. Please don't do that again." His voice was monotone, which I assumed was the only way not to straight up shout at me. He said no more as he walked out of the Citadel tower.

I sighed deeply and walked towards the entrance as well. Kaidan was at my side. I looked to him and saw his blank face against my own. Shaking my head again, I told him, "Son of a bitch."

He chuckled. With nowhere else to go, I decided to return to the Normandy. Either way, I wasn't in the mood to go sightseeing.

* * *

><p>I found Shepard in the mess hall, putting his armor back into his locker. He saw me approach and slammed the door shut, leaning against it afterwards. He looked up at me in defeat.<p>

I took a deep breath. "Shepard, I can't believe they'd do this to you. After all you've done, they'd just sell you out like this. The Council owes you everything, and yet they ground you when you become inconvenient."

He sighed. "While the Citadel's sitting with sticks up their ass, Saren's on the search for the Conduit. I did all I could, Marcus. They're going to hand Saren the Conduit and doom us all."

I folded my arms. "And what are you going to do about it? You're just going to sit here, accepting defeat so easily? You're just going to turn your back in what you believe in, the entire reason we're here?"

He stood up. "I'll figure something out. We're not out of this yet."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "Shepard, you've done more for me than anyone I know. I'm with you until it's all over. Whatever you need me to do, I'm there."

He smiled and brought me into a hug, then began laughing. "After all the problems you've had when you first joined the crew, now you're the one reminding me of what I'm fighting for. I appreciate it."

I drew away, chuckling. "Funny how that happens, isn't it. I don't regret ever joining you, Shepard, despite what I may have said at any point before."

Joker interrupted our conversation on the intercom. "Um, Commander? Anderson wants to meet you in Flux. Says it's important."

"On my way Joker," Shepard told him. He turned to me and grinned. "Looks like he might have a way to make it happen. We're not done yet. Gather the crew, I have a feeling we might be able to leave soon."

I saluted, something I only rarely did with him. His grin only grew as he returned it. Without any hesitation, I exited the Normandy.

* * *

><p><strong>POV Shepard<strong>

I walked into Flux, alone. I found Anderson sitting at one of the tables, waving me over. I sat down in the chair opposite him.

"I'm glad you came, Shepard. I heard what happened."

I slammed my fist into the table. "They pulled me off the mission, just like when they forced you to give up the Normandy."

He shook his head. "I know, I'm sorry. I wanted to warn you, but there was no way to get a message through before you docked. I know you're pissed off right now, but you can't give up. They all think it's over, but we both know it's not. If Saren reaches the Conduit, it's all over for us. You have to get to Ilos, stop Saren from using the Conduit."

I sighed, rubbing my temples again. "There's only one ship that can get me into the terminus systems undetected, and she's grounded"

Anderson smiled. "Citadel Security powered down all the Normandy's primary systems. But. If we override the ambassador's orders, you can get them to bring the Normandy back online. You can be in the terminus systems before anyone even knows you're gone"

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "What would happen to you? If we leave with the Normandy, you're the one left with the blame."

He shook his head. "If Saren finds the Conduit, life as we know it is over. The reapers will destroy us. Humans, Asari, everybody! You're the only one who can stop them, Shepard. I'll do whatever it takes to get you back on the Normandy and onto Ilos."

I shook my head. "Stealing the Normandy is mutiny. What if the crew won't help me?"

He smiled again. "The ship is yours, Commander. The crew will follow you to the ends of the galaxy. We both know that."

We both stood up and shook hands. "I won't forget this, Captain. Thank you."

He continued with, "I can unlock the Normandy from one of the consoles in the Citadel control center. You'll have a few minutes before anyone knows what happened."

I shook my head. "That's a restricted area patrolled by armed guards. If there's any less dangerous options, I want to hear them."

He nodded. "Ambassador Udina issued the lockdown order. If I can hack into the computer in his office, maybe I can override it."

I turned. "You'll have a better chance with his computer, Captain. Marcus should have everyone on the ship by now. Whenever you're ready."

He nodded, giving me a grin. "Good luck, Commander."

I nodded and jogged out of Flux, returning to the Normandy.

* * *

><p>I stood behind Joker ten minutes later, waiting for the override command to kick in. Marcus was behind him as well, standing with his arms folded.<p>

We waited nervously, Joker giving us quirky smiles every few seconds as a reassurance. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the terminal powered up.

I smiled. "Joker, get us out of here, on the double. Send us on the fastest possible course to Ilos."

I turned to the CIC, but first to Marcus. He gave me a knowing grin, one that gave me hope that maybe. _Maybe._

_Maybe, we can still do this._


	14. Battle of the Citadel

**Disclaimer: Mass Effect and its characters are owned by Bioware. All I own is the OCs and changes to the plot.**

**POV Garvil**

I took a deep breath before walking into the back of the Engineering Bay. I wanted to talk to Tali one last time before we went to Ilos. Shepard had already told the crew that Kaidan and I would be going along. She didn't notice me at first, since she was hard at work on the drive core as she usually was.

She finally turned around when I was a few steps away. "Marcus, what is it?"

I smiled. "I just had one last question to ask before leaving to Ilos. Tali, your hood looks different than the rest of your suit. I mean, it looks like it's too ornate."

She chuckled. "This was something my mother made for me. She was one of the few quarians that was skilled in decorating various cloths. It's not truly part of my suit, but I wear it because it's the last momento of my mother I own."

I nodded. "Your mother died?"

"Six years ago now," she responded, voice distant. "My father never got over it. It only made him work harder. I assume it kept his mind off of her." She shook her head and turned around. "Y-You should get ready for the mission. Good luck."

I stood there for a moment, then sighed silently and turned back to the rest of the Engineering Bay. Garrus walked up to me while I was putting on my armor.

He folded his arms. "So we're at the end."

I nodded. "Once we find Saren, this ends."

He stepped forward and leaned against the other lockers. "Marcus, this might be the last time we meet. If it's not, I just want you to know. It's been good knowing you." He put out his right hand in front of him. I smiled and slapped it with my own, clasping it.

"Garrus. I don't plan on letting Saren win. I don't want to think about what will happen when this is all over, either." I sat down and shook my head. "Quick question, Garrus. What are you going to do when we defeat Saren?"

He thought about it for a moment. "I might reapply for spectre status, maybe go back to C-Sec." He laughed. "All right, maybe not C-Sec. I think I'll stick around. I'm interested in what Shepard will do."

I laughed. "Not much of a goodbye if we both plan on being here afterwards, Garrus."

He put his hand on my shoulder as I pulled on my combat boots. "Good luck out there, Marcus. We're all rooting for you three."

"We'll see what happens once we're on Ilos." I finalized, putting my helmet on. Shepard and Kaidan had come into the room and were putting their own armor on. Grabbing my assault rifle, I continued, "We'll see."

I stood with Shepard and Kaidan in the cockpit, watching the planet of Ilos get closer and closer. Pressly was in the room as well, but he was looking more and more agitated as time went on.

Finally, he looked up. "Shepard, there's only one place within thirty klicks that can fit the Mako, but it's far too dangerous to land."

Joker laughed. "You're talking to the best helmsman in the fleet, Pressly. I know I can pull it off."

Pressly sighed and put a hand on his forehead. "Joker, you need at least 100 feet of flat land to safely put the Mako down on the planet. All I'm reading is 20."

"I can do it," Joker said again, this time more adamant.

Shepard shook his head. "If that's the only place we can drop that's near enough to get to the Conduit in time, we'll have to risk it. Joker's confident, and I'm sure he can pull it off."

Pressly sighed in exasperation, but didn't say anything more. He stormed out of the cockpit in annoyance.

Joker turned around. "We'll be ready to drop in five. Better get down to the Mako."

Shepard nodded, leading the way to the elevator. Kaidan and I were close behind. Wrex nodded to us as we passed him, giving me in particular an unreadable stare. We climbed into the Mako, Shepard driving and me gunning. Joker dropped us into the landing zone Pressly had found, a giant thud sounding out before we landed. As expected from a pilot of Joker's caliber, the landing was safe and sound. We stood before a giant door, which I believed had just closed based on the thud earlier.

Shepard sighed. "Saren's already here, I saw him before the door shut. We need to get this door open before he finds the Conduit. Out of the Mako, we have to find a security terminal on foot."

I exited first, bringing out my assault rifle. I passed through a small entryway in the vegetation, brushing the hanging vines out of the way. A geth trooper in the clearing beyond shot at me, bruising my outer barrier. I raised my assault rifle and blasted it until it fell. I let it cool as the other two came into the clearing. The remaining geth was destroyed quickly, with our combat skills and biotics from Kaidan and me. The next several corridors and clearings were similar, but we came across two geth colossus' in front of a large ancient prothean building.

We took cover and took potshots at them, keeping the shock troopers at bay. We focused on the right hand colossus, taking over two minutes to take out its shields between the various blasts and the onslaught of regular troopers. The explosion when it finally fell filled me with satisfaction, as the troopers felt endless.

At that point, I got an idea. Using my biotics in a way I hadn't done so before, I created a bubble in the middle of all the troopers. They all immediately stopped.

"Focus the Colossus," I told them. "I'll maintain the stasis field. Hurry, I can't safely do this for long."

Shepard nodded and brought out his sniper rifle, modded to deal extra damage to shields. He couldn't do this before since the troopers would overwhelm us otherwise, but now it only took the other two several seconds to completely deplete the shields. I slightly increased the radius, noticing the troopers learning that they shouldn't enter the field. I heard a large explosion and reduced the size, only letting a few ground troops through. When my nerves started flaring, I dropped it completely.

Shepard gave me a thumbs up when the troopers stopped coming. "Good thinking, Marcus. Let's see what's inside this buildling."

I nodded and fell in line after him, my face twitching occasionally from the throbbing pain throughout my body.

There were more geth inside the main section of the building, but only the prime gave us problems. The geth's tactics were to keep their enemies behind cover while the more sturdy enemies flanked them and made them leave their protection zone. With this in mind, I focused on the destroyers rushing into our position. The prime was easy enough afterwards, even if it took out my barriers in one burst.

We entered the security room of the building, activating the only terminal that appeared to be still functioning. Immediately, what looked like a damaged hologram appeared behind it. It spoke in a garbled language that made me scratch my head. I turned to Kaidan, but he only shrugged. Only Shepard was paying any sort of attention to him. After a few moments, Shepard paused it.

I shook my head. "It's probably speaking in Prothean. I can't understand a word of it."

Shepard turned his head to look at me strangely. "It's a warning, but it's broken up. I only caught some of the words."

I raised an eyebrow. "You can understand it? It must be the Cipher you got on Feros. You must have learned their language."

He nodded, then had the hologram play again.

"What's it saying, Commander?" Kaidan asked in curiousity. "Whatever it's saying could be useful."

He shook his head. "Just gibberish, mostly. All I can get from it is that it's a warning against the reaper invasion. We're not getting anything more out of this. Let's just get that door open and get out of here."

Kaidan and I looked at each other again while Shepard activated a few commands on the terminal.

"All right, let's head back. Saren has a head start on us, so we have to reach the Conduit fast to catch up with him." Shepard immediately turned and brought his assault rifle out, leading the way back to the Mako. I shrugged at Kaidan and followed.

There was minimal geth resistance on the way back to the doors, only a few regular troopers in total. We climbed into the Mako quickly, entering the now open door.

I looked around nervously through the gun's sights. "Keep an eye out, Shepard. There could be a security system still active."

"I gotcha," Shepard responded, moving quickly through the long tunnel. We found a geth outpost at the top of a ramp, but they were no match for my aim. There was an ambush at the bottom of the ramp, but we sped through and kept going across the tunnel. Eventually we came across a large shield, which replicated behind us when we approached.

Kaidan scoffed. "Saren set a trap for us. We should've seen this coming."

I shook my head and put my hand up. "I doubt Saren's behind this, Kaidan. There's an elevator here, and I don't remember seeing one before this. Saren wouldn't give us an escape route."

He shrugged as the three of us entered the elevator. It brought us to a single path with a terminal at the very end. We slowly approached, wary of an ambush, but nothing happened. The terminal turned itself on when we got close.

"You are not Prothean. You are not Machine. This eventuality was one of many that was anticipated. This is why we sent our warning through the beacons." The robotic voice carried little emotion, but didn't carry malice either,

I scratched my head. "It sounds like another prothean hologram, but I can understand this one."

"I have been listening ever since you have arrived here. I have modified my output in a way you can understand. I do not sense indoctrination in any of you, unlike the other that passed recently. Perhaps there is still hope. My name is Vigil, and you are safe here for the moment. However, that is likely to change soon, and nowhere will be safe."

Shepard crossed his arms. "Saren's going to reach the Conduit while we're here."

"You seek to end the cycle that has been perpetuated for millions of years. To stop it, you must first understand it, so you don't make the same mistakes we did. The Citadel is the heart of your civilization, your head of government, as it was with ours and every civilization that came before us. But it is a trap. The station is actually an enormous mass relay, one that links to dark space, the empty void beyond the galaxy."

All three of us looked at each other in shock. _The Citadel is our demise?_ I thought in fear. The numbness in my fingers spread across my hands momentarily in shock. After a moment, Vigil continued.

"When the Citadel is activated, the reapers will pour through, and all you know will be destroyed."

Shepard grabbed onto the railing preventing us from going into the abyss to stay upright. "In one single moment, the reapers can take out the council and the entire citadel fleet."

"That was our fate. Our leaders were dead before we even realized what had happened. The reapers controlled the citadel, and through it, the mass relays. Communication and transportation throughout our entire empire was crippled. Each star system was cut off from the others, easy prey for the reaper fleets. Over the next several decades, the reapers systematically obliterated our people; world by world, system by system. They methodically wiped us out."

I shook my head. "You didn't surrender? Some of you might have lived."

"No offer of surrender was ever given. The reapers have one goal: The extinction of all advanced organic life. Through the citadel, the reapers had access to all our maps, sensor data, and hidden colonies. Information is power, and the reapers knew everything about us. Their fleets travelled across every region of the galaxy. Some worlds were utterly destroyed. Others were conquered, their citizens enslaved. These indoctrinated servents operated under reaper control, taken in as refugees in other planets and obliterated with the rest by the machines. Within a few centuries, the reapers had captured or enslaved every prothean in the galaxy. They were ruthless and absolutely thorough."

Shepard tightened his grip. "You brought me here for a reason. What do I need to do?"

"The Conduit is the key. Before the reapers attacked, we protheans learned some of the secrets behind the mass relay technology. Ilos was a top secret facility. Here, we constructed a small mass relay, one that links directly to the Citadel, the heart of the relay network. We severed all communication with the outside and our facility went dark. The personnel retreated underground into the archives. To conserve resources, everyone went into cryogenic stasis. I was programmed to monitor the facility, and wake the staff when the danger was over. But the genocide of a large, widespread species is a slow process. Years passed, decades, centuries. The reapers were persisting, and the energy reserves were dwindling. We were a few hundred left of the entire prothean empire. Our only hope was to remain undetected. I began to disable the life support of non-essential personnel. First, support staff. Then, security. One by one, the pods were shut down to preserve energy. Eventually, only the stasis pods of the top researchers remained active. Even these were in danger of failing when the reapers finally retreated back into darkspace."

I shook my head in disbelief. "You just killed them."

Shepard sighed. "It was necessary. As much as I don't like it, it had to be done." His voice carried sadness, even as we knew it was true.

"My actions were a result of my programming. I saved key personnel. When the reapers left, the top researchers were still alive. My actions are the only reason any hope remains. When they awoke, they realized the prothean species was doomed. There were only a dozen left, far too few to sustain a stable population, yet they vowed to find some way to prevent the return of the reapers. A way to stop the cycle forever. And they knew the keepers were the key?"

Kaidan leaned backwards against the railing next to Shepard. The latter scratched his chin. "Aren't they under the influence of the reapers?" He asked the hologram, confused.

"The Keepers are controlled by the Citadel. Before each invasion, the keepers are sent a signal to activate the Citadel Relay. After decades of feverish study, the scientists found a way to alter this signal. Using the Conduit, they gained access to the Citadel and made the modifications. This time, when Sovereign sent the signal to the keepers, they ignored it. The reapers are trapped in darkspace."

Shepard's eyes went wide as the blood drained out of his face. "Saren can use the Conduit to bypass the Citadel's defense and give Sovereign access to the keepers!"

"Correct. Sovereign can bypass the altered signal and open the Citadel Relay manually, and the cycle of extinction will begin again."

I put my hand on Shepard's shoulder in reassurance. "Saren won't succeed. We have to use the Conduit, Commander."

He nodded as Vigil continued.

"There's a data file in my console. Take a copy when you go. When you reach the Citadel's master control unit, upload it to the station. It will override the Citadel's security protocols, temporarily giving you control of the station. It might give you a chance against Sovereign."

Kaidan shook his head. "Wait, Commander. Where's the Citadel's master control unit?"

Vigil had the answer, grim as it was. "When you pass through the Conduit, follow Saren. He will lead you to it. Although he has not reached the Conduit yet, he will soon."

Shepard nodded, then turned to me. "Get the data file and back to the Mako. Saren has enough of a head start, so let's not stick around." He turned on his transmitter on his omni-tool. "Joker, get the Normandy off to the Alliance and prepare them to go to the Citadel. Tell Admiral Hackett that Commander Shepard says it's vitally important they mobilize as soon as possible, and that it's related to my mission against Saren. If we fail here, that might be the best chance we get at stopping the reapers."

I heard Joker's voice faintly. "Aye aye Commander, leaving the system."

I nodded and grabbed the data disc the terminal popped out. I started running back to the elevator, but turned back. "Vigil, thank you. You've given us a fighting chance."

I didn't even wait for a response before rushing to join Shepard and Kaidan on the elevator. We sprinted back to the Mako and took our usual spots, barely settling in before Shepard kicked it into high gear. We bounced through the rest of the tunnels, ignoring the geth as we entered what looked like an underground river. There were various geth rocket troopers and armatures, but we blazed through them as I blew them to hell. We turned several times, coming across more and more geth, but suddenly it ended in a slowly slanting downward ramp.

In front of us, was what looked like a Mass Relay.

"Shepard," I screamed to him. "The Conduit! Saren's already made it through!"

"Don't remind me," Shepard replied in an annoyed voice before flooring the Mako. I noticed various geth troopers shooting rockets at the Conduit, attempting to destroy it before we reached it. I began to sweat in fear as we floored our way through a maze of geth Armatures. As we approached the Conduit, the geth rocket troopers in charge of destroying the Conduit could only watch. The last thing I felt was relief.

_"Marcus!"_

I groaned, grabbing my head.

_"Marcus!"_

I blinking, attempting to clear my vision. All I saw was blackness.

_"Marcus, wake up!"_

I blinked again. I was being dragged out of the Mako. Kaidan stood over the geth trooper he had just slain while Shepard dragged me out of the Mako. I stood up, barely keeping my balance. My head was killing me, but the throbbing was dissipating by the second. I motioned for them to go on and slumped against the wall for a moment, catching my breath.

"Cr-Cr-Cr-Critic-cal-al-l err-error." I heard the Avina console nearby stutter through some warning gibberish as I waited. I stood there slumped against the wall for several moments before I felt I could walk. _Alarms are going off everywhere,_ I thought to myself, suddenly realizing it was true. I took a deep breath and pushed myself away from the wall, bringing out my assault rifle. The Citadel looked like hell merged with Earth.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and limped quickly to the only unlocked door behind me.

_I have to get to the Council Chamber. It has to be where Saren's going._ My thoughts came slowly, but I was moving well enough to catch up to Shepard. He was standing in front of an elevator, geth troops littering the floor. Nodding to me, we entered the elevator.

As we rose towards the Presidium, I noticed the Citadel's arms closing. Shortly after the arms sealed themselves, the elevator began to slow.

I scratched my head. "Er, that's not a good sign."

Shepard grabbed his helmet. "Get these helmets on, it looks like we'll have to go on foot." I nodded to him and put mine on, feeling the seal go into place. The elevator stopped shortly after, causing Shepard to break the glass with the butt of his rifle. Turning to glance at us for a moment, he jumped deliberately off the elevator and activated his mag-boots, causing him to slide the few inches needed to plant his feet on the side of the elevator. The two of us followed safe and sound.

"Keep the mag-boots on when going up slopes," Shepard explained. "Turn them off when on flat ground, but the last thing you want to do is fly off into the middle of dead air."

We travelled through the side of the Citadel, methodically clearing out the geth while we trekked. I used my biotics whenever I felt I could get away with it, knowing that my pain was meaningless compared to what would happen if we didn't travel through this area quickly. The tone changed when we reached a dropship blocking off our progress.

I looked around, noticing the turrets nearby. "Kaidan," I began. "Get those turrets online, they can help take down the dropship."

He nodded to me and sprinted to the nearest one while Shepard and I covered him. Using a small biotic barrier, I kept Kaidan from getting shot while he worked. Kaidan raised his arm only to bring it down in victory when he finished, the turret beginning the attack on the dropship. The second turret was more defendible, and the barrier wasn't necessary. My nerves were beginning to throb, although the pain was ignorable for the time being.

The third turret caused the dropship to explode in a grand display of fireworks, allowing us to proceed. the next hallway was filled with krogans and geth destroyers. I laughed and used my biotics to lift them in kind as they charged, causing them to flail wildly as they sped above us into the vast dead air of the Citadel. Shepard laughed alongside me as we ran, making sure to keep an eye out for ambushes.

We stopped in shock for a moment when we stormed into the next room. Geth of various types were entrenched in any sort of cover they could find, while two turrets shot high energy rounds more powerful than an armature's into our path. We stepped into a trench and began shooting down the geth approaching our position.

"What do we do now, Commander?" Kaidan asked as a turret shot narrowly missed his head.

Shepard looked around, getting a twinkle in his eye as he saw the downward ramp to our side. Pointing to it, he said, "There. We can use the side path down there to bypass this entire room."

I nodded. "I'll go to the other side of this indent and get the turrets to fire at me. Both of you run when they fire. I'll join you afterwards."

Shepard opened his mouth as if to protest, but shortly after closed it again and nodded. I moved to the other side, lifting a geth to the dead air while I did so. I saw Shepard and Kaidan sprint to the side path as the turrets fired upon my position. Rolling to avoid the fallout, I crouched and ran across the trench, blasting every geth in my way. Creating a barrier, I sprinted after them, jumping to cover as a turret shot missed my leg by only inches.

I took a deep breath and stood up, sprinting after Shepard. The hallway we had gone into was much of the same as the rest, filled with various Krogan. We cleared them out the same way as before, me lifting them up while Shepard and Kaidan blasted the rest. The krogans eventually stopped coming, which allowed us to sprint to the end of the hallway.

Shepard gasped when we reached it. Crouching down to grab a handle on the floor, he exclaimed, "I remember, this leads to the Citadel Council Chambers. Hurry, we have no time to lose!"

We entered through and took off our helmets. The Council Chamber still had breathable air. We sprinted around the fountain in the entrance, still working perfectly despite the carnage done to the Presidium. I looked at the largest tree, right in the middle of the large circular platform leading to where the Council held its meetings. While the rest of the trees were still intact and alive, this one only had a stump with several dead branches attached. _That tree made me smile every time I walked up here,_ I thought with remorse. _A damn shame._

We circled around the dead tree and took cover against the few troopers remaining as Saren's personal guard. They were taken down with ease as we sprinted up the stairs to where Saren stood, typing away at the terminal in the back of the room. He turned around at our approach, pulling out his pistol and shooting at us. A platform rose and picked him up, placing him well above us. He kept shooting, forcing us all to dive to cover.

The turian ex-spectre laughed maliciously. "I was afraid you wouldn't make it in time, Shepard."

Shepard gritted his teeth as Saren spoke. "What are you talking about, in time?"

Saren laughed again, somehow even more maliciously than the last. Chills ran down my spine, cutting out the low throb of my nerves against the biotics. "The final confrontation. Don't you see, Shepard? You've lost. In a few minutes, Sovereign will have full control of the Citadel. The relay will open, letting all the reapers through."

Shepard shook his head. "I'm not out of this yet, Saren. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."

Saren crossed his arms. "You survived our encounter on Virmire, but I'm different now, Shepard. Sovereign... upgraded me."

Shepard's mouth opened wide. "Are you insane? You let Sovereign implant you?"

He shook his head, although I doubted he was answering no to Shepard's question. "I suppose I should thank you. After Virmire, I couldn't stop thinking about what you said to me. Sovereign manipulating me. About indoctrination. The doubts ate at me. Sovereign sensed my hesitation. I was implanted to strengthen my resolve. Those doubts vanished, Shepard. I now believe completely in Sovereign. They told me that the reapers need organics. Join us, Shepard. They'll find a place for you too."

Shepard gritted his teeth in response. His frustration was obvious. "Don't you see? Sovereign's controlling you through your implants!"

The turian laughed, this time in amusement. "The relationship is symbiotic. Organics and Synthetics combined, a union of flesh and steel. The strengths of both, the weaknesses of neither." He raised his fist in front of his face. "I am a vision of the future. The evolution of all organics! This is our destiny. Join Sovereign and experience a true rebirth!"

Shepard stood up, bringing himself into sight of Saren. The latter immediately prepared his gun, but Shepard didn't even flinch. "Sovereign hasn't won yet. I can stop it from taking control of the station. Step aside, and the invasion will never happen!"

Saren lowered his gun, bringing his other clawed hand to his face. "We can't stop it, Shepard. Not forever! You saw the visions, what the reapers did to the protheans. They're too powerful!"

Shepard took a step forward, not lowering the pressure. "Some part of you must still realize this is wrong, Saren. Fight this!"

Saren groaned. "May... Maybe you're right... I still... have a chance to... Agh!" He twitched his body forward, clearly fighting with his own body. He breathed heavily for a moment before standing straight. His eyes carried regret.

"It's too late for me. The implants, Sovereign... they're too strong. I'm sorry."

Shepard continued walking. "It's not over yet. Fight, Saren! You can still redeem yourself!"

Saren stood perfectly still for a moment, but his eyes carried great pain within his own mind. In a calm voice, his last words were, "Goodbye, Shepard. Thank you." He slowly raised the gun to his own head. The time appeared to move in slow motion as the bullet entered his brain, causing his entire body to spasm before crashing through the glass below.

I stood up and watched as Shepard jogged up the rest of the stairs, deciding to follow. The three of us stood in front of the console while Shepard took out the data disc from Vigil's console. He slipped it in, causing the terminal to beep several times.

He turned to us, smiling. "Vigil's data worked. I've got full control of the Citadel's systems.

I immediately stepped forward. "Open the Citadel doors. Sovereign's attached to the Citadel. The only way to stop him is to destroy him."

Kaidan stepped up next to me. "Open a communications channel as well. We have to tell the fleets that Sovereign's the ship they have to destroy."

He nodded and opened up the communications. Immediately, a channel opened.

"This is Commander Antea... Destiny Ascension... Drive core offline... Council on board... Repeat... Council is on board..."

The transmission cut off, being replaced by another.

"Normandy to Citadel. Normandy to Citadel, please tell me that's you, Commander."

Shepard leaned forward. "It's me, Joker."

I heard a sigh of relief from the other end. "I'm sitting here in the Andura sector with the entire Alliance fleet as you asked, Commander. We can save the Council! Just unlock the relays and we'll send the cavalry in."

Shepard nodded to us and began typing on the console. I smiled. _Maybe we have a chance after all_

"Stop right there, Commander."

The three of us turned around. Jentha stood there with her pistol aimed right at Shepard's head. "You're thinking of saving those useless assholes?"

Shepard gritted his teeth and brought his fist forward. "The Council will be critical to keeping the peace as we rebuild. If we lose them, we might never be able to stop the reapers when they come again."

She laughed hysterically. "You actually believe that horsecrap? I don't know about you, but I believe in facts. Saren was the one who masterminded the whole thing. This entire story about 'reapers' is just a figment of your imagination."

Shepard's face grew red with rage as she continued. "The Council is just three people, and you're willing to sacrifice what could be the entire human fleet to save them." She chuckled, as if she had just told a good joke. "I'm sorry, Commander. I'm going to have to stop you."

She raised her gun directly at Shepard, who raised his own. Before either could shoot, I punched Jentha in the arm. The pistol flew out of her hand, landing in the pit beneath where Saren's lifeless body lay. Kaidan used his limited biotic power to hold her hands behind her back, although his face crunched together with the struggle.

Shepard turned and entered the commands to open the arms and the relays while I stared into Jentha's eyes. It was as chilling as Saren's.

"You're insane. You ask to join us on our quest to stop Saren. You manage to piss everyone on the ship off, while only getting by on your combat skills. You openly show aggression against your commanding officer, and now you're trying to doom the most influential people in the galaxy." I punched her in the face, causing a tooth to fall out. She didn't make a sound.

"You're pathetic."

I took over Kaidan's immobilization job until I could bind her hands behind her back normally. I placed her off to the side of one of the stairways, leaving her to screech profanities at us while I returned to Shepard's side. He turned to Kaidan and me, ignoring Jentha's screams.

"The Alliance fleets are taking out the geth ships. The arms are opened, and now everyone knows to target Sovereign. If we're lucky enough, it will be destroyed before it can access the Citadel."

Shepard looked over to Saren's body suspiciously. Without any delay, the tower began to surge with red electricity.

Kaidan spoke first. "Um, that can't be good."

That was an incredible understatement, as the electricity merged within Saren's dead body. The platform we were on fell, causing us to fall into the garen below. I looked up to see a giant metallic skeleton with a red fire inside its chest. We brought out our weapons again, barraging it with bullets. The shields were immense, taking well over three minutes to completely wipe out. Biotics didn't help in the slightest.

The skeleton hovered into a small ball when we dealt damage to it, so I used the time to look up towards the battle above. Although most of what I could see was the underside of the Reaper, I saw Alliance ships and debris dotting the sky around it. I looked back down to see that the skeleton had regained its shields, making me groan. We methodically wore them down, keeping the pressure on.

"The shields are down," Shepard stated between shotgun shots. "Take it down before it can regain them again!"

We fired everything we had at the Saren doppelganger, pumping every bullet and power we had into the metallic body that had once been Saren. Finally, it collapsed to the ground. After only a second of delay, the fire inside its chest spread, consuming the entire skeleton and leaving behind only scorch marks where it had lain only moments before.

Looking up, I saw in slow motion as the reaper slowly removed itself from the antenna it was attached to. The Alliance fleet seized its chance and pummeled it even harder than before, missiles ripping through the armor and causing various sections to fly off into the rest of the Citadel. I stood transfixed, grin glued to my face, as the reaper split apart with a giant explosion, causing dozens of small pieces to fall in every direction.

My grin vanished when I noticed the section flying directly to where we stood.

Shepard turned to us, fear on his face. "Go!" he screamed at us, only one short second before the clear glass exploded around us. I started running, but I was thrown forwards at the impact of the reaper. I didn't even remember hitting the wall.

_"...survivor..."_

...

_"Wake up..."_

...

_"Mr. Garvil, wake up."_

I blinked and looked around. I was staring into an Alliance marine's face. I shook my head to wake myself up and grabbed the soldier's hand, allowing her to help me to my feet. I looked around and saw Anderson run up to me, Kaidan by his side. He smiled broadly and grabbed me by both shoulders.

"You did it, Lieutenant, you're safe now. It's all over." He looked at me strangely. "Where's the Commander?"

I shrugged and grabbed my head. I noticed that I had a headache similar to the one I had when we went through the Conduit. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an Alliance Marine escorting Jentha outside of the tower. When my vision focused, I noticed she was dazed. I broke my concentration on her and looked at the people around me.

As one, we all turned towards the largest piece of the reaper that had struck the tower. I took a step forward, but froze. Only a second passed before I started laughing and hugging Kaidan.

Commander Shepard climbed over the top of the reaper arm, grinning at us in return. I looked at him and saluted. Grinning, he saluted back before jumping off towards our side of the rubble. As he limped, his grin only grew stronger.

He laughed when he reached us. "It's over, Anderson. We did it."

The captain only grabbed his hand and shook it. I brought Shepard into a hug and he returned it.

"You did good, Commander. No one else could have done it."

He moved away from it and put his hand on my shoulder.

"You're the one who made it possible," he replied. "Your words was what caused this to happen."

I shook his hand, my heart swelling with pride. _My dream for years has been to meet John Shepard,_ I thought to myself. _Now I'm here, helping the same man save the galaxy._

I laughed to myself, grabbing my head and shaking it again. I still couldn't believe it.

I sat down on one of the pieces of Sovereign and watched as the Council and Udina approached. The Alliance marines bowed respectfully and moved away, searching through the rest of the wreckage. Kaidan sat next to me as we watched the Council.

The Asari Councilor spoke first, her voice filled with pride. "Ambassador, Captain, Commander Shepard. We have gathered here to recognize the enormous contributions in the war against Sovereign and the Geth."

The Salarian nodded and continued where she left off. "Many humans lost their lives in the battle to save the Citadel, brave and courageous soldiers who willingly gave their lives so that we, the Council, might live."

The Turian picked up right where he left off, his voice betraying his surprise and sincerity. "There is no greater sacrifice, and we share your grief over the tragic loss of so many noble men and women."

The Asari Councilor stepped forward. "The Council also owes you a great debt, Commander. One that we can never repay. By defeating Sovereign, you have saved billions of lives. You have the courage of your convictions, and the ruthless determination to succeed. Through your actions, you have become a symbol for everything humanity represents."

The Turian Councilor stepped forward alongside her. "Your species has an indomitable will, a fierce savage spirit that will not bend or yield. We used to believe that this made humans stubborn, even dangerous."

The Salarian stepped forward, now bringing the entire Council back in the same line. "But now we know that this is what makes you strong. There are dark times ahead. The Council needs humanity and its strength."

Udina bowed, a smile on his face. "As humanity's ambassador, I accept your offer. Humanity will join its strength to yours. We will take our seat on the council."

The Salarian Councilor nodded approvingly, then turned back to Shepard. "We will need a list of potential candidates. Given all that has happened, I'm sure your recommendation will carry a great deal of weight, Commander. Do you support any particular candidate?"

He nodded, then used his head to motion to Anderson. "We need someone with the courage to stand up for what he believes in. Someone like Captain Anderson."

I laughed silently at Udina's bewildered and shocked expession, but thankfully the ambassador did not speak.

The Asari nodded her approval towards Anderson, then returned her gaze to Shepard, frowning. "The shadow of war darkens our future. Selecting someone with military experience is a wise choice."

Anderson stood up straight and nodded curtly to her. "I'm honored, Councilor. As humanity's representitive, I will do everything in my power to help the council rebuild."

The Turian shook his head, clearly annoyed with what has happened. "Sovereign destroyed our illusion of peace and security. Now the galaxy will look to us, the Council, to defend them."

Shepard took a step forward with conviction. "Do what you must. Note this: The reapers will return. I'm going to go find a way to stop them once they do."

He turned and began walking towards the entrance of the tower. After a few steps, he stopped and turned.

"Councilors, you asked me a question when I became a spectre. The answer to that question, is yes." He glanced at me, then turned back around and continued his walk outside of the tower.

Kaidan stood up, with me following. Confused, I watched as the Council turned towards where I stood.

The Asari spoke. "Lieutenant Marcus Garvil."

I raised an eyebrow for a moment, then responded, "Yes, Councilor?"

The three Councilors stood for a moment, but then she spoke again.

"Marcus Garvil, we hereby offer the title of Spectre to you, if you wish to accept it."

I reeled backwards, shocked by her words. Kaidan looked at me with surprise, then grinned and slapped me on the back. I froze, not sure what to say. After a few deep breaths, I looked down.

I shook my head as I brought my head up to face them. Stepping forward, I responded in a whisper, "Was Shepard asked to evaluate me for spectrehood?"

She nodded, which alone caused me to have to sit down again. I shook my head, not wanting to answer the question.

I took another deep breath before responding. "I need to think about it, Councilors. First, I need to speak to the Commander."

The three councilors nodded and moved out of the way as I stood, walking after him. My mind was numb.

_Why me?_

I caught up with Shepard outside the tower as he walked to where the Normandy lay docked. He smiled at my shocked look and sat down on a nearby crate.

"Marcus, you are one of the best possible candidates I can think of to become a spectre." He shook his head. "Initially, I was dismayed at what you did on Therum. You fell apart, and I didn't believe that anyone who would lose control like that could handle the responsibility. I gave you another chance, because no one is considered to become a spectre if they aren't good at their job. I was watching you the entire time."

He stood up again, putting his hand on my shoulder. "You lost your parents and had to choose between the lives of two people. You grieved, but you worked past your grief to get the job done. Not only that, but you have inspired me to do what needed to be done to stop Saren."

He looked into my face with no hint of sarcasm or jokes. "With the entire galactic government in disarray, the Council will need someone to keep order. You're someone I trust with this."

He turned towards his ship again, where the crew was walking towards us. I turned and saw Kaidan as well.

Shepard sat down again, this time with a stressed groan. "It was an honor working with you, Marcus," he told me, moments before the rest of the squad came into view.

Tali walked up first, hugging Shepard. "Thank you for letting me on your ship, Commander. I'll miss you." She hugged me as well, which I returned wholeheartedly. My heart skipped a beat, and it began to ache when she let go. I remembered her words on the ship, saying she was going back to the Migrant Fleet once the mission was over. I had known at the time it would come, but I still felt sad that it actually happened.

Kaidan was next. He shook Shepard's hand. "I wish I could go with you, Commander. I'm being recalled by Alliance Command." He shook his head in annoyance. "I don't think I can transfer out of it. Good luck, Commander."

Shepard grinned and dragged Kaidan into a hug. "It was good working with you, Kaidan. We'll meet again someday."

Wrex walked up next. "I'm going to Tuchanka, Shepard. I remember telling you that I've given up on my people, that they're damn commited to going extinct." He stepped back and chuckled. Even after hearing it so many times, it still sent chills down my spine. "I'm going to change that. It was fun, Shepard."

Shepard patted the krogan on the shoulder a few times with a grin, then turned to Liara and Garrus. They both nodded to him.

I stepped forward and shook Shepard's hand again, this time with finality.

"Good luck, Shepard. If you need another Spectre, you know where to look."

**A/N: Mass Effect 1 is officially complete. Up next is Marcus Garvil's adventures as a spectre over the next two years.**


	15. A New Beginning

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns the Mass Effect series and its characters. All I own is my own characters and any changes to canon.**

* * *

><p><strong>Citadel, One Week Later<strong>

**POV: Marcus Garvil**

I stood in front of the Citadel Council in the Citadel Tower one week after Shepard's departure. Tali had found a way off the station within hours. She bought a small worn down fighter with my assistance, one on a cruiser that would be passing through the system the Migrant Fleet was in. Wrex stayed for a while, but left yesterday to return to his homeworld. I had a feeling that the Council would only be too happy to send a Krogan Battlemaster back to his home planet. Kaidan had left immediately with the Alliance fleets back to Sol, where he would get his new orders. Liara and Garrus had left with Shepard, their loyalties not having to be shared.

As for me, I had been sitting here waiting for orders.

I accepted the Council's offer of spectrehood soon after my final conversation with Shepard, and I was put on standby while the communication arrays were functioning normally. They still were having issues, but it was cleared up enough that they found a job for me.

I walked the last few steps to reach their raised platform, the temporary section for Council meetings until the tower could be completely repaired.

Tevos spoke up first. I was told their first names when I became a spectre, although I still called them 'Councilor'.

"Commander Garvil, we have an urgent job for you."

I had been promoted to Commander given my actions with Shepard, as well as because they believed I should never have been demoted anyway. I nodded to her and waited patiently.

Valern spoke next, in his usual calm voice. "We've gotten notice that one of the terrorist groups in the galaxy has become more active in the past several days. We're sending you to figure out what they're up to and stop it, if possible."

I nodded again, planting my hands on the railing. "What is the name and location of the group?"

"The terrorist group is called the 'Gray Rose,' a group that has been around for several decades," Sparatus responded in his usual cold tone.

"The Gray Rose operates on Thessia, and is an all-Asari group," Tevos continued. I raised an eyebrow. I figured I would be sent on an important mission, but I never thought I'd be going to the Asari homeworld. Very few people ever entered Asari space itself, much less Thessia.

_It must be important if they're sending a non-Asari there._

Tevos nodded. "You will meet up with one of our other spectres planetside. She has been investigating them for several years, but hasn't uncovered anything. With their new activity, we're worried they might have a plan to disrupt our efforts to rebuild after the battle with Saren."

I nodded and stood up from where I was leaning on the rails. "I'll leave immediately, Councilors. You can count on me," I told them confidently. Tevos and Valern nodded, while Sparatus just stared at me blankly.

"We'll arrange transport immediately," Tevos finalized. "Keep us updated, Commander. Good luck. Dismissed."

I turned and walked down the stairs to the entrance of the tower.

_Thessia?_ I thought to myself in confusion. _They must be incredibly worried if they're sending me there. They must know something_

I shook my head as I took the elevator down to the Presidium. I was approached by an Asari in a long thin robe, a fairly common site in the Presidium.

She smiled when we shook hands. "My name is Reyna. I was asked to bring you to Thessia, Spectre."

I nodded and motioned behind her. "Lead the way, Reyna."

We walked to the nearest public transport, which brought us to the docking bay where Reyna's frigate was waiting. We boarded and I looked around, marveling at the ship's design.

I already knew Asari Ships were build more flat than any other race, but I shook my head at how different the entire design was. The interior was more colorful than any Alliance ship I had ever been on. I had heard that Asari could be part of the crew on a ship for most of their lives in some cases, although I had never really put into thought how that would change the design of ships.

Reyna caught me looking around and laughed. "This ship is called Thenda Ral. In your language, it roughly translates to 'The All-Seeing One'. Follow me, I'll show you your room for the voyage."

I nodded and followed her as we passed through the various sections of the ship. I recognized most of them, as they appeared to have similar functions of an Alliance ship, although some had innovations I didn't recognize.

We had entered between the cockpit and the CIC, which was slightly larger than the Normandy's. There wasn't a raised section where the Commander gave orders, but instead a single console with a large screen showing the galaxy's various systems on the far wall. There were two entrances outside of the CIC, one on each of the left and right walls between the various crew terminals. I couldn't breathe at the sight of the decorations across the various walls. While the Normandy had a plain blue wall, there were various paintings, patterns, and colors plastered across the walls seemingly at random. I shook my head in disbelief, wondering how I'd ever be able to get used to Alliance ships after this.

I followed Reyna again as she went through the right door, which was a simple hallway that led around the far edge of the CIC to where it met with the other hallway in the middle. There was a small indent at the end with a door. The asari didn't even stop and opened the door without hesitation, which led to what appeared to be a mess hall. There were small tables throughout the room, some with various crew members eating and laughing with each other. Every asari we passed saluted at Reyna, which she responded by nodding back to them. I got strange looks soon after we entered the room, with every asari in the room shortly after stopping to stare at me. I ignored them and continued to the other side of the room, following my guide.

The last section we passed through was a hallway with various rooms. One opened near the end with a stretching Asari exiting it. She stepped to the side and saluted as we passed, then gave me the same strange look as the others in the mess hall. I nodded to her and continued. The hallway ended with a small intersection to two more hallways. I assumed at this point that this was where the crew stayed, which surprised me. The Alliance had sleeping pods for the various crew and non-commanding ground team, but it appeared everyone had a room on this ship.

We went to the right side and stopped when we reached the last room in this hallway. I assumed the turn we would have taken would have met with the other hallway and led to the drive core or the medical bay. Reyna stopped and turned at me, opening the door.

"This is your room for the duration of the voyage. Since you're a guest, you won't have any roomates. You'll be here for around eight days if we aren't stopped or delayed, so make yourself at home. The path beyond the one we've already taken leads to the medical bay if you need it, and you already know where the mess hall is." She smiled at me as I looked around the room in wonder.

Breaking my gaze away from what the room entailed, I shook my head at her. "All we get in the Alliance is a sleeping pod and a locker. I never would have thought any other race would have the crew get their own rooms."

She laughed. "It's not uncommon for Asari to be on these ships for hundreds of years. It's best we allow the crew to be as comfortable as possible the entire time they're here."

I looked around again, in disbelief as to what was in the room.

The room was fairly big. On the far right corner stood my bed, going along the right wall. A desk with a chair in front of it was in the nearest right hand corner. On the opposite side of the desk, another desk stood, this time with a terminal attached. A large screen was on the far left side wall, next to the bathroom door, which was in the middle of the farside wall. The screen had a small terminal in front of it, which I assumed extended the larger teminal on the desk relating to calls and various video options. The walls had the same type of decorations as the rest of the ship, although much less varied. A cylinder-shaped dresser was directly in the middle of the room, rising from floor to ceiling with various drawers attached.

Reyna stepped into the room and folded her arms, grinning at me. "I see you like the accomodations. The screen links to two hundred separate channels as well as doubling as a video display for calls. The terminal does about everything you can imagine a regular terminal on a ship doing. It also has a direct link to the one in my private quarters, so we can get in contact easily in an emergency."

I shook my head in disbelief again. I couldn't imagine how the asari could afford all this.

She stepped towards me again. "I must ask you to stay away from anywhere on the ship that isn't your room, the medical bay, or the mess hall. If you need anything, contact me or put a request through the terminal. Do you have any questions?"

I nodded. "I assume you're the captain of the ship?"

She smiled, nodding. "I've been the Commander of the Thenda Ral for 76 years. She's a fine ship. Although she fights less than most other frigates, she's also one of the best in the fourth fleet for escort, inspection, and investigation jobs. Since we're often the ones asked for the most important people, namely high ranking officials, admirals, presidents..." She winked at me. "Spectres, we go pretty far to make sure our accomodation is the best we can make it."

I grinned and sat down on the bed. "Do you know anything about why I'm going to Thessia?"

She placed a hand on her hip and leaned on the dresser. "The Gray Rose. All I know is that you're being sent to help one of our other agents there to take them down. The Council has already sent a message to her, so we'll probably be contacted within a few days." She gave me a strange look and crossed her arms. "The second human spectre being sent to Thessia. The Council must be confident in you for such a high risk job. I'm not sure what they told you about the Gray Rose, but they're the single most notorious terrorist group in Asari Space."

I shook my head. "I wasn't told much by the Council. Only that I was to figure out what they were planning and put a stop to it, as well as helping the agent already on the surface."

She nodded. "You'll either need luck or an ace's skills to be able to pull that off. Any other questions?"

"No," I responded, distracted. "I'll let you know when the agent contacts me. Other than that, I'll probably stay here most of the time if you need me for anything."

She nodded and opened the door. "Enjoy your stay, spectre."

The door shut, leaving me alone in this large room. The bathroom had what you'd expect: A toilet, a sink with a mirror over it, a cupboard, a bath, and a shower. I took a long bath, savoring the relaxation time. I knew before long that this would be a lost luxury.

I stretched my muscles and walked out of the room, back towards where the mess hall was located. The asari in charge of providing food for the rest of the crew sized me up before leaning on the counter.

"So you're the spectre?" She asked me in a curious voice. I nodded and placed my arms on the countertop.

She straightened and turned around, lifting the lid off one of the pots laying on the stove behind her. "You're the first non-asari Spectre ever to go to Thessia on business," she told me almost off-handedly, as if it wasn't a big deal. I raised an eyebrow.

She laid down a plate filled with various asari cuisine, none of which I recognized. As I reached for it, she continued, "Watch yourself when you're doing your business down there. You might be a Council Spectre, but some matriarchs are not readily going to accept that if you get into trouble, since you're not one of them."

I nodded, but I wasn't worried. "I'm going to be working jointly with an asari spectre. If we need help, they'll likely listen to her regardless."

The asari's returning look was one of surprise. "Two spectres on the same mission? It has to be serious." She shook her head and turned back to the pots. "If you're going after one of the big organizations on Thessia, be careful. Last thing you want is for your fight to become public. Trust me." Her voice carried finality, as if she didn't want to talk anymore. I shrugged, even though she couldn't see it, and sat down at one of the outermost tables in the room. With all my time on the Normandy, I couldn't get used to not being able to look forward to talking with Shepard or Garrus.

One of the off-duty asari sat next to me before too long, obviously interested in what I was going to Thessia for. I learned that this ship was very rarely used to escort non-asari, which instantly made me uncomfortable.

_Does assisting Shepard in the Battle of the Citadel really carry that much weight?_ I thought to myself, still in disbelief. _I was an emotional wreck for a significant amount of the mission against Saren, and I have nerve damage from my biotics. Was any of this ever mentioned to the Council?_

The past few months had completely changed me. I had spent most of my life being expected to be the best until I lost my entire team in that damn Cerberus facility. I had been traumatized by the experience, which was only compounded when I relived it on Therum, causing my strong biotics to permanently damage my nerves. I lost feeling in my last three fingers on my left hand, as well as several of my toes. If I used my biotics too often or too intensely, the throbbing would return, furthering the damage.

I sighed and suddenly realized the asari sitting at my table had stopped speaking and was staring at me worriedly. I shook my head and stood up, leaving my half-eaten meal at the table. I began walking back to my room, exhausted by my thoughts. I felt a throb pass through all the nerves in my body, which caught me by surprise. Up to this point, only my biotics had caused this to happen. I took a deep breath and cleared my mind as I walked into my room.

I had already sat down on the bed when I realized that my terminal was beeping. I listened to it for a few seconds before finally standing up and walking the short distance to the desk it stood on. I sat down in the chair and opened up the message prompt. My heart skipped a beat when I realized it was from another spectre.

_Commander Marcus Garvil,_

_I've been notified that you are to help me on my investigation into the Gray Rose terrorist group. Go to the city of Relthyn, Docking bay S5-3B. It is a private docking bay reserved for spectres. I will be there when you arrive. There is a lot we have to talk about when you're here, but we'll get to that when you arrive. The Gray Rose has agents all over the planet, and they will be interested in you specifically. I can't risk saying any more for fear of an outside source reading this._

_Stay wary, as some asari don't like aliens on Thessia._

_Sriphina._

I scratched my chin as I read. I forwarded the docking information to Reyna, then turned the terminal off. I was liking the Gray Rose less and less the more I found out about it. I was expected to thwart whatever they had in mind, but I was to operate alone with one other spectre. I wasn't sure what the council was thinking, but this sounded incredibly suicidal to me.

I laughed to myself. Going after Saren was considered suicidal by some as well, but we pulled it off. This was different. Our job in Saren required us to go around and shoot everything metal with a lightbulb for a head. This time, it would be entirely suicide simply attacking them guns blazing.

I slipped into bed, wanting to take my mind off of the plague in my head.

_It's my last time to relax for probably a long time,_ I told myself sternly. _Spending it complaining to myself about what I have to do is only making it worse._

I struggled to tame my thoughts enough for sleep, but soon enough I had drifted off.

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><p><strong>Thessia, One Week Later<strong>

**POV: Marcus Garvil**

The next week passed without serious incident. Various crew members showed an interest in finding out what my mission on Thessia entailed, but I didn't reveal anything about the Gray Rose. I was relieved when we finally docked in Relthyn, since I was starting to get annoyed with how the crew obsessed over me due to being a human spectre.

Reyna walked with me out of the docking station, her presence being the only thing needed to get past all the checkpoints. As we left the building, I noticed an Asari dressed in light armor sitting on a bench nearby. When she saw us exit, she stood up.

"You must be Marcus. My name's Sriphina, your partner for this mission." Her voice carried respect, but also a hint of disbelief.

I smiled and shook her hand. "Indeed. Nice to meet you, Sriphina. I understand we have a lot to discuss."

She nodded and turned to Reyna, who nodded at me.

"If the Thenda Ral is on Thessia when you're ready to leave, we'll be happy to bring you back to the Citadel." With that, she turned back into the docking station without a final turn back.

Sriphina motioned for me to follow and began walking briskly along the pathway. I looked around while we walked, amazed at the sight. London was a beautiful city in its own right, but nothing like this. Fountains and monuments to various prominent figures dotted the landscape, large skyscrapers blocking the view of the horizon. I shook my head in wonder. I had heard that asari engineers were among the best in the galaxy, but I had never truly seen the reasons until that point.

I was broken out of my thoughts when Sriphina began speaking. "We're going to my apartment. Are you a biotic?"

"Yes," I responded, not wanting to go into further detail about my weakness.

She nodded approval. "Good. The only way in and out of there is with a biotic pulse sent in a specific way. I'll teach you how when we get there."

I stepped into the shuttle and took a seat next to the door. The asari spectre sat across from me as the shuttle door closed. I felt the shuttle rock slightly as it rose from the ground. We stood in silence for the several minutes it took for the shuttle to reach its destination. The door opened and Sriphina exited first. I followed and kept up her brisk pace.

"We're close. Stay close, we might be watched." Her voice was strictly professional, allowing no room for compromise. I nodded and stayed only a single pace behind her, priming my ears in case someone was following us. We entered a dark alleyway, which didn't even faze the asari spectre. She biotically lit up her hand and raised it above her head without missing a single step. Obviously she was used to going this direction.

I memorized the pathway, which was easy since there were few intersection. Sriphina suddenly stopped, nearly causing me to run directly into her. I noticed immediately why she stopped, as there was a stone door accented by several holes in a square.

She nodded to me. "The locking mechanism is in a very precise place on this door, but can only be accessed by moving it around through these various holes. The way you open it is with this specific order." She sent a pulse through five seperate holes in the door, then pressed the middle of the square. The door immediately receded into the left wall, allowing the two of us to enter. The door returned to its closed state after we passed through, ensuring no one else could interrupt us as we talked.

The living area had a couch and two chairs, as well as a huge screen taking up the majority of the opposite wall. A hallway next to one of the chairs led to two doors, which I assumed was the bedroom and bathroom. Two more doors led to other rooms on the opposite wall. Common sense stated that one was the kitchen, as it had a table and various appliances from what I could see at the door. The other door was closed.

Sriphina strolled to the couch and collapsed on it, motioning for me to sit as well. I sat down in one of the chairs, nearly sinking into the softness.

We sat for a moment just collecting our thought.

"There's a lot we need to discuss," Sriphina started, staring at me from the edge of the couch. She had stretched out on it, upper body elevated by the edge. I nodded, which prompted her to continue.

"The Gray Rose has been increasing their activity since Thessia recieved word of Saren's attack on the Citadel. Most of what I've been able to track is supplied being moved around, heavily encrypted transmissions, the like." She sighed and shook her head. "I've been tracking them for decades, and they haven't given me a lead on their leaders, plans, or what they want to change."

I cocked my head in confusion. "Wait a minute. You're telling me that there's a good chance they're simply doing this for fun?"

She nodded sadly. "The Gray Rose are as secretive as they are ruthless. They leave no clear pattern of their activities. If you knew only of their cargo movements, you'd think they were a freelance transport company. They move things around seemingly at random."

I scratched my chin. "Is there any leads we can follow?"

She shook her head. "I haven't found anything that could alert us to what they might be up to. I've been trying to find a way into their system since I began investigating them, but they update their security system before I can ever get anything useful. The only thing I found that could be still valid is the existence of a secret entrance into one of their bases."

I raised an eyebrow. "Will this help us find anything?"

She shrugged. "I haven't been willing to infiltrate them with that entrance up to this point because I know they keep track of any information that might have been leaked. They will be guarding that entrance possibly even more thoroughly than the usual entrances. The advantage is that I found this information several years ago. Since they're so paranoid with possible security breaches, it's possible they will assume that information either didn't leak or won't be acted on. If this is true, we might be able to infiltrate the facility and see what we can find in its databanks."

I sighed in response. "This sounds like a big assumption. How do we know they're even still there?"

She chuckled in amusement. "I've been keeping a special eye on that building. It's a warehouse, and there hasn't been any drop in their activities there since I found out about it. If they're not there anymore, they are trying incredibly hard to keep it a secret."

I nodded and stood up. "I'm ready when you are, Sriphina."

She grinned mischeviously and stood up with me. Her smile turned into a frown shortly after, her gaze turning to a distrustful one.

"I hope you're able to live up to your title, Marcus. Despite what the Council says, I'm not willing to work with someone who will only be a burdon on me."

I waved her distrust away. "I wouldn't be here if the Council didn't think I could pull this off."

She walked up and put her hand on my shoulder before walking back to the door.

"The Council has been wrong before." She pressed the center of the front door, which slid open to reveal the dark alleyway. "Come, we shouldn't waste time. Don't want to keep them waiting." I nodded and exited alongside her.

_I miss Shepard already._


	16. Death of a Hero

**Disclaimer: Mass Effect and the canon characters are owned by Bioware. Any custom character and plot changes are my own.**

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><p><strong>Thessia<strong>

**POV: Marcus Garvil**

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><p>Sriphina led me out of the alleyway the same direction we had entered. I kept an eye out in case of any trouble, as I was well aware of the dangers. We walked for several minutes across the pathways in silence, the Asari Spectre deep in concentration. I was staying a few steps away as we walked, in case she suddenly stopped again. It turned out to be a valid precaution, as she did so again without warning. We were standing in front of a hotel, of all things. I raised an eyebrow at Sriphina, but she ignored me as she inspected the building, her face furrowed.<p>

A moment later, she glanced to me. "This is it. Stay close and don't say anything. I'd bet anything we'll be watched while we're inside." Her voice carried determination and gave no hint of wiggle room. I nodded, trusting in her ability to know what she was doing. The other spectre didn't respond further, instead deciding to open the door and walk inside.

I sighed to myself and followed close behind her. Some of the Asari in the lounge stared at me as we passed, including several in what looked like a card game. I turned away and focused on the receptionist desk on the far side of the room. The receptionist gave me a surprised glance, but smoothed her gaze when we reached her desk.

"What can I do for you two?" she asked sweetly, giving us a fake smile. I had a feeling she knew that we were spectres. I folded my arms, suspicious.

Sriphina showed none of my suspicions, instead keeping her firm demeanor as she placed both her hands on the counter. "We need to inspect the building," she began, voice as firm as her face.

The receptionist glanced around before responding. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that without a permit." She sounded visibly afraid, making my suspicions only rise further.

Sriphina didn't look fazed. "We're council spectres on an important investigation. We're inspecting the building."

The receptionist looked down towards the floor. I had a feeling this had happened before, and didn't end very well. "All right, go ahead," she finally responded, this time in a soft voice. She turned away, visibly attempting to keep us out of her vision. Sriphina paid her no more mind, instead motioning me to follow with her head and walking towards the first floor hallway. I followed and looked at the various doors, curious where the hidden entrance would be.

Sriphina turned at the end of the hallway and hung a right into what looked like a back lounge. It was empty and looked like it was rarely used. I continued following the asari through the room as I looked around. She stopped at the bathroom door in the back and opened it without hesitation. I stopped for a moment before continuing, stopping myself from sighing. _Who places an entrance in a damn bathroom?_ I thought to myself. I couldn't stop myself from thinking that I was being led into a woman's bathroom, which made my cheeks flush in embarrassment.

Sriphina walked to the other end of the large bathroom and to the last stall. She pulled the door open and took the one step needed to reach the back. She pressed her hand to the wall several tiles above the toilet, activating her biotics in the process. I watched for a moment, then noticed the back of the stall begin to move. I put my hand to my forehead in disbelief. The wall moved back a few feet, then stopped in place. Sriphina turned around back to me.

"This is it, Marcus. I don't know what we'll find on the other side of this passage. Be ready."

I nodded in response, causing her to turn again and step past the toilet to the passage beyond. I sighed and followed Sriphina into the passage, allowing the back wall to slide back into place. I raised my arm and activated my biotics, joining Sriphina's own biotic powered light. The walls were cracked and beginning to smell, causing my nose to wrinkle. We walked down the passage for several minutes, encountering nothing of note the entire way through. My heart began to beat faster from trepidation as we walked, although Sriphina retained her normal calm guise.

We finally reached what appeared to be a stairway blocked off by a horizontal wooden block. Sriphina stopped and gazed up at it, inspecting for any obvious way to open it. I stepped up and pressed against it gently, causing it to raise slightly. Sriphina immediately picked up on it, walking up to the other side and testing it there. The result was the same as mine. Grinning, she activated her biotics, sending a blast that blew the block straight off the hinges connecting it to the floor.

I shook my head in disbelief, disappointed at the other spectre's lack of discretion. Sriphina ignored me and walked up the now open stairway. I followed closely, biotics still at the ready. The room was empty of anyone but the two of us, but I had a feeling that wouldn't last long. I looked around, inspecting the inside of the warehouse. We were in a small section of it, a fairly empty room except for a few scattered footlockers and the wooden block on the far end. I noticed with a sigh that the block had dented the wall, meaning they weren't reinforced as most things in the city were.

Shaking my head, I turned my attention to the footlockers. Sriphina and I spent several minutes going through them, mainly due to the fact that neither of us were especially skilled in opening locks. We found nothing particularly special, which wasn't a surprise to me. If the Gray Rose had any suspicion of the secret entrance being compromised, they would likely not be careless enough to leave any important information in the first room of the warehouse.

We walked to the door on the far end of the room, preparing ourselves for what lay on the other side. I drew my assault rifle as my companion drew a shotgun. She slowly reached towards the door's opening mechanism, giving me a firm look. I nodded, causing her to open the door and swing around to aim at anyone on the other side.

She wasn't disappointed. She shot immediately, causing an asari on the other side to scream in pain. I sent a biotic blast through the door, hitting another asari and throwing her across the large room. There were four left, two of which were sending biotic flares at us. I erected a barrier as Sriphina kept shooting, allowing her to easily dispatch of them.

We walked into the room, being careful in case the terrorists weren't alone. I knelt down at the closest asari and activated her omni-tool, checking the memory banks for anything of use.

"Nothing on her," I told Sriphina a few moments later, dropping the dead asari's arm and standing back up. "The memory on her omni-tool's blank." It would be safe to assume the rest were no different. Sriphina merely responded with an absent nod as he continued exploring throughout the large room. I looked up and noticed that there were several tiers of storage. Some of the various racks had containers, although most were completely empty.

I shivered as we continued walking. I had a very bad feeling about this place. This was obviously still used by the Gray Rose, although we had only seen four sisters attack us up to this point. Sriphina stopped and pointed to a door near the far corner of the room, to which I nodded. I activated my biotics and kept them on standby, not trusting this situation for a moment. We took up spots on each side of the door, Sriphina again taking the task of opening the door. She immediately vaulted into the open when the door opened, although there were no Gray Rose agents on the other side. She slowly walked into the room, which was a dead end except for various terminals.

I had only taken a single step when I heard the wall spark where my head had just been a second before. I turned and noticed a sniper on one of the upper levels, lining up another shot. I vaulted into the room and used my biotics to force the door shut.

"They're here," I told Sriphina as I activated my biotics to keep the door shut. "I won't be able to keep the door closed for long.

Sriphina glanced at me and nodded between fiddling around with the terminal. She grabbed a data disc from her armor and placed it in the terminal, furiously pressing more commands. "This terminal is a data mine," she told me with a victorious smile. "There's no telling what this information can contain."

I flinched as the asari began probing the locking mechanism. I was a strong biotic for a human, but I couldn't handle several asari for long.

Sriphina walked up to me and linked her own biotics to mine. I felt the pressure on my own biotics lower, although the biotic power forced against our own increased.

"Delay them as long as possible," Sriphina ordered me. I assumed the data was automatically being transferred to the disc. I held back some of my biotic power, as I was already beginning to feel the familiar throb of stress on my nerves. Sriphina gritted her teeth with the effort of keeping the barrier up in front of the lock, but otherwise showed no signs of breaking.

Our one advantage was the fact that the Gray Rose members couldn't simply go into an all out assault against the door. If they tried, most likely the door would simply be unusable and we'd be trapped inside with all their information. The other likely possibility was the door caving in and breaking off straight to the other side of the wall, destroying the information. They had to be precise in how they opened the door, which gave us time. I wasn't sure how long we held; all I knew was that I had to hold out until the information finished downloading to the OSD.

"It has to be nearly done by now," Sriphina said to me in a strained voice in what seemed like hours later.

"How much damn data are you getting?" I asked in response, focused on concentrating my biotics on the door. The throbbing in my nerves intensified, causing me to wince every time the throbbing began.

"It's a gold mine," Sriphina responded with excitement, although her voice was still strained. "If we get out of here with that data, we could be busy for months just going through it all. If it's all encrypted, it could take even longer."

I gave her a confused look. "Whatever they're planning, they might be able to do it if we're wasting our time analyzing data that might not even be relevant."

Sriphina rolled her eyes at me in response. "Do you have any better ideas? We have no idea what they want to do, and for all we know this could be our only way of finding out."

I sighed. "Good point. Let's focus on getting out of here,"I finalized, focusing on holding on to the barrier. I soon had to stop my biotics, causing the throbbing in my nerves to start dissipating. Sriphina grunted a few times, but soon enough faltered as well, stumbling to the ground and panting heavily.

The door opened and several asari entered the room, each of them giving us looks of contempt and disgust. They each raised their assault rifles, causing me to begin to panic as more asari began entering the room. Sriphina was still panting heavily on the other side of the room, so I thought quickly.

The next thing that happened was nothing I consciously thought of doing, but it was what I did. I suddenly appeared in the middle of the group, causing me to be confused for a moment. I felt my nerves throb violently once, then I noticed every Gray Rose member knocked out cold in various parts of both the room we were in and the outside one.

It took me a few moments to gather my bearings, but I was interrupted by a severe numbness over my entire body. I fell over roughly, unable to breathe. Slowly, the numbness went away, but the replacement wasn't much better. My nerves flared violently enough to make tears form in my eyes, my empty lungs attempt to make me scream, and my arms to slightly shake from the shock.

I slowly began to breathe again as the throbbing slowly ebbed, and soon enough Sriphina limped up to me and held out an arm. I shook my head and waited a moment, then grabbed it when I felt I had enough energy to be able to hold myself up. Tears were streaking down my face from the pain, but I was able to breathe deeply again.

Sriphina gave me a strange look. "I haven't seen anyone do what you just did," she stated to me in awe. I shook my head to clear my head, then turned to her.

"What did I do?" I asked her in confusion. "All I remember is suddenly moving and then everyone was on the ground."

Sriphina's returning stare was devoid of any emotion. I wasn't sure I liked that look.

"You turned into biotic energy and moved to one of the Gray Rose members," the Asari Spectre responded, her voice thick with disbelief and shock. "You faltered a moment, then you surrounded yourself with biotic energy and sent it out in a wave."

It was my turn to stare blankly. I wasn't convinced that was what happened, but it fit what I remembered perfectly.

"Sriphina," I whispered, looking down at the ground. "It was instinctual. I don't think I can replicate it."

She shook her head again, then reached into her armor and took out a disc. "Hopefully, you won't have to. The data finished downloading to the disc when they broke through the door. Luckily, your antics and the bodies didn't destroy it."

I scratched my head awkwardly. I was beginning to feel a little embarrassed about how she said the last sentence. "Yeah, good to see this trip wasn't a waste."

She smiled at me in reassurance. My responding look was confused, but I was beginning to understand her. I had just proven why I was a spectre to her. She was beginning to trust me.

As she began limping back towards the tunnel, I began smiling as well.

_Maybe she's not so bad to be around after all._

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><p><strong>One Hour Later, Sriphina's Safe House<strong>

**POV: Marcus Garvil**

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><p>The trip back to the hideout was relatively uneventful. Sriphina's limp was nothing more than a numb leg, so she regained control of it shortly after we left the hideout. The throbbing in my nerves began becoming tolerable afterwords, so we were able to finish the return trip without any difficulties.<p>

Sriphina immediately went through the only closed door in the living room as soon as we arrived. I followed her in, marveling at what was inside. Various equipment and terminals were strewn throughout, which I assumed was her work area when she did her spectre missions. I shook my head in disbelief at the sheer amount of high tech equipment in the room as Sriphina took the disc and placed it in the drives of one of the far side terminals.

I walked up to behind her and leaned over her shoulder, trying to see what was going on. The asari pressed a few commands, then crossed her arms as a program began cycling through the data. My breath was taken away when I found out just how much was on this disc. If it hadn't been encrypted, we still would've had to take over a month to be able to read it all.

"You really found the jackpot," I told her, impressed. The grin on her face widened at my words.

"This is the first real lead I've had on the Gray Rose's activities ever since I've been tracking them. All I've had so far was cargo shipments, low level personnel, and useless data caches."

I raised an eyebrow at her excitement. I'd probably be just as excited if I was tailing the same group for several decades, but she simply sounded obsessed at this point. I stood there watching the screen as it began decrypting the first message. It took a few minutes, but soon enough a message showed up on the screen.

_The Council is weak and cannot retaliate. Prepare our agent and make sure she gets in position before they can rebuild. We will never get a better chance._

I crossed my arms as I read, dread filling my body the farther I got.

Sriphina simply grinned malevolently. "So the Council's report was correct. They're up to something related to the aftermath of the Battle of the Citadel. This is our key to stopping it."

I wasn't so sure. This data would take a long time to decrypt fully, and there was no way most of it was related. It looked like we had happened upon a database of information, and we would probably find something relating to all their plans. Even if we eventually found out what they were trying to do, it might end up being months too late.

_If we're lucky,_ I thought to myself. _We can find some way to delay it while we figure out what it is._

I looked down towards the ground, then suddenly conjured up another thought. _They said 'before they can rebuild.' Hopefully that means it won't be possible for months yet._

_We have a chance._

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><p><strong>Three Weeks Later, Normandy SR1<strong>

**POV: Commander John Shepard**

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><p>I sat in the mess hall, eating my midday meal. I trusted my crew to be able to handle the searching without me, so I simply leaned back and relaxed. I had given myself very little time to do so the past week, so I grinned at myself as I rested.<p>

_It feels good to be able to stop for a moment and catch my breath,_ I thought to myself with my eyes closed. _This job isn't going to get interesting. The Geth has stopped being aggressive weeks ago, ever since we stopped Saren at the Citadel._

I opened my eyes slowly and took another bite of the pasta. Ever since the Battle of the Citadel, the Alliance had made sure to stock the Normandy up with better quality food. Now I didn't cringe when it was meal time, which was one of the best perks of being a hero.

I stood up and brought my disposable plate to the garbage disposal next to the ration cabinet, then stretched in contentment.

I leaned against the wall next to my locker, staring at it wistfully. _The job might have been stressful,_ I thought with sadness, _but I'd gladly do it again to have my team back._

My eyes drew down to the floor, having a flashback to where I sat against it, having given up all hope. Marcus had walked up to me and gave me the hope I needed to follow the mission through.

_I wonder what he's doing right now,_ I thought to myself in wonder. _I'd kill to have his spot. Spectres aren't often given boring jobs like these._

I turned away and leaned my back against the wall, deep in my thoughts. I had decided to leave in order to find a way to stop the reapers, but it hadn't sunk in until I left just how directionless I was. I was given an official order by the Council when I left to find any remaining geth and terminate them, but there was no challenge or point in doing it. Any geth we found ended up posing very little of a fight. After Sovereign's demise, they stopped posing any sort of resistance.

Our current operation was to investigate the location where a few ships went missing, but I wasn't sure it was anything but slavers or mercenaries simply wanting easy prey. Either way, it was our job to find out what was causing the disappearances.

I pushed myself from the wall and decided to head up to the cockpit, but I was stopped when one of the ensigns in the CIC went over the intercom.

"_Commander, unknown ship is intercepting-"_

Static.

Then a crash.

I gasped and immediately ran straight to the end of the mess hall where the emergency terminal was located. I activated it and pressed the code to the wall safe. Immediately afterwards, my second set of N7 armor appeared to one side. I hastily put it on the bottom half, then wrote the distress signal's code before continuing my dressing. I felt a gust of wind against my back as I fastened my helmet, signaling the rapid loss of life support to this section of the ship. I took a deep breath, then heard footsteps behind me.

"Commander," a female voice said behind me in panic. I glanced around to see Liara's face, giving me a look that matched her voice.

I pressed the last command on the terminal, then deactivated it and turned around. "Distress signal is launched. Get everyone to the escape pods."

Liara shook her head defiantly. "No, Commander. Joker's staying with the ship, and so am I."

I sighed inwardly to herself and stepped forward, grabbing her arm. "I'm giving you an order, Liara. Get your ass to an escape pod."

She pulled her arm away. "Garrus is herding everyone to the escape pods. I'm staying until every one of them is through."

I stamped my foot down, then turned and grabbed her shoulders. I winced when another crash rocked the ship, nearly causing me to lose my balance.

"I love you Liara," I began, my tone a lot more tender than my previous actions. "You're going to the escape pods so you can get your ass off this ship before it explodes, while I go up to the cockpit and haul Joker's crippled ass out of here. Understand?"

Liara shook for a moment, then looked down in guilt and nodded. Tears formed in her eyes, but I only barely noticed as I turned around.

"Get going, Liara. You're not going down with the ship. That's an order." I stated the last sentence again, much more firmly this time. Liara sniffled and ran past me, giving in to my words. I smiled softly to myself and followed, arms ahead of my face.

As I reached the table, it caved in, making my ears ring. I walked quickly up the stairs towards the CIC, hearing the creak of bending metal behind me. I glanced back to see the bottom of the stairs completely destroyed, metal poking in every direction and obviously making it impossible to walk over it. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves as I exited on the top of the stairs.

Immediately, I noticed that the roof of the CIC was completely missing. I began walking around the ruined galaxy map with a sinking feeling in my heart.

_My ship,_ I thought to myself, the shock beginning to wear off as the reality began setting in. _My ship is gone._

I noticed the cockpit had a barrier, and I continued walking towards it as the ruined CIC left my vision. I shook my head as more of the reality set in, but I otherwise ignored it and continued.

As soon as I passed the barrier, I began running towards the pilot's chair where Joker was sitting. He had placed an oxygen mask on, but otherwise showed no sign of preparing for the lost life support of the ship.

I placed my hand on his shoulder to let him know of my presence. "It's time to go, Joker."

Joker shook his head in disbelief. "No," he began, panic and dismay accenting his voice. "I can still save her, Commander."

I couldn't help but admire his loyalty to the ship. I felt for him, but there were more important things. "She's gone, Joker. You shouldn't go down with the ship."

Joker pressed a few more commands, then stopped and slowly placed his arms on the armrests. "Yeah, you're right Commander." His voice displayed defeat, which made me feel even worse.

I grabbed his arm and began lifting. "Ow, watch the arm!" he protested, but I ignored it and pulled him out of the seat.

I stopped when I noticed the unknown ship appear through the small part of the hole we could see from the cockpit. A moment later, it was gone from our view. The front of the ship was spinning, albeit slowly. "Oh no, it's coming around for another attack!" Joker said, panic beginning to creep into his voice. I double timed it towards the emergency escape pod in the cockpit, forcing it open and pushing Joker inside.

I placed one foot in the escape pod when the ship attacked again. A large orange beam penetrated the other side of the cockpit, where the copilot usually sat. I slammed into the wall with the blast, stunning me for a moment.

"Commander!" I heard Joker say as stars floated in front of my eyes. I blinked and saw enough to notice I was near the entrance of the cockpit. The beam had ended, but I realized I likely wouldn't have the time to be able to return to the escape pod.

"Go, Joker. Save yourself!" I screamed at him, waving him off as he stared at me in an extreme mixture of shock and guilt. He gave me one last wistful look before closing the escape pod, activating the protocol to release it from the ship.

I smiled. From what I had seen of the escape pods as I passed the mess hall, it looked like most of the pods were launched. The best case scenario was that nearly everyone escaped.

_At the cost of my life,_ I thought to myself, waiting for the end. _I made sure my crew escaped._

I began laughing, remembering a short adage from humanity's history. "_The captain is the last man to leave a sinking ship."_ This couldn't have been more true in the current situation.

Finally, the beam reappeared in the cockpit, causing an explosion that threw me back into the CIC. I landed roughly on the remains of the galaxy map, which changed my momentum and threw me away from the remains of the Normandy. I looked down in dismay as I noticed just how badly the Normandy was damaged. The back half of the ship was completely gone, and several large pieces of debris was floating around the ship.

_Wait,_ I thought to myself in confusion._ Isn't it getting harder to breathe?_

I gasped when I realized that it was. I grabbed the oxygen pipe with both hands to find the leak, but it was fruitless. I ran my hands across it to find where the air was escaping from, but soon enough the last bit of air exited my lungs. My body flared with panic as my lungs attempted to fill with air, but it didn't take long for that to numb.

I closed my eyes as my limbs became too difficult to move. _So this is how it ends,_ I thought to myself with what little thought I had left.

_I love you, Liara._


	17. A Plot Foiled

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns the Mass Effect series and the characters within it. I only own the OC's and non-canon elements of the plot.****  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Days After Shepard's Death, Thessia<strong>

**POV: Marcus Garvil**

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><p>The next several weeks went by without incident. The data was slow to decrypt, and a lot of the information we ended up with was useless to our investigation. We had pressured the Council to send any possible upgrades to our decryption equipment to speed up the process, but we ended up getting nothing.<p>

Weeks had passed and nothing we could use had come up in the data cache yet. Sriphina spent most of her time helping the computer decrypt the data, and I was often going out into the town to stop myself from going insane. We left the hideout together to stock up on supplies or to get some fresh air sometimes, but I was getting restless. Every day we spent doing nothing was one day closer to the Gray Rose finishing their plan.

At this point, I could find my way back to the hideout without any trouble. To stop myself from sitting around and worrying all day, I went out and tried to find information the old fashioned way: By going out and talking to people.

I realized quickly what Sriphina meant in her warning when I arrived. Spectres aren't universally liked on Thessia, especially non-asari spectres. It became just as frustrating trying to find information as waiting around for the data to decode. Two weeks were all I needed to decide that staying at the hideout was less stressful than trying to get more information.

One evening, I parked myself down on the couch. I could hear my companion typing away at the terminal in the next room, a normal noise. I turned on the video terminal and checked the Galactic News for an update on the rebuilding process. I kept close tabs on this, as I wanted to make sure our fight against Saren didn't end in permanent damage to the galactic community. I knew the Reapers were going to come one day, and we needed the galaxy at its best to be able to combat them.

My blood chilled when I heard the day's headline. A female human reporter I didn't recognize was on the screen with a picture of Shepard in the corner. She was already speaking, so I forced myself to calm down and listen.

"...dismayed to report that the hero of the Battle of the Citadel last month died several days ago in the Amada System. The Normandy SR-1, an experimental frigate constructed with both Human and Turian resources, was completely destroyed by an unknown assailant."

I blinked in shock. Shepard, dead?

"Initial reports say that over eighty percent of the crew made it out alive."

I smiled at that piece of news. Hopefully, Garrus and Liara were among them.

"Councilor Anderson has agreed to an exclusive interview. As humanity's representative on the Council, we are honored to have him on our show." The reporter stopped speaking for a moment as the screen changed to fit both her and Anderson's faces.

"Welcome, Councilor. We're honored to have you on the show," the reporter began. She couldn't stop herself from grinning like a buffoon.

Anderson smiled back. "I'm glad to be here. Commander Shepard was a good friend,"he responded. His tone had a hint of sad reminiscence. I was a little surprised. Although I knew Anderson wasn't much for politics, I would have thought he'd hide his emotions better now that he was humanity's Councilor.

The reporter nodded and began asking her first question without any other formalities. "So, Councilor Anderson. You were the first Captain of the Normandy. Is this true?" Anderson simply nodded. "And you willingly stepped down to allow him to take control of it when he became a Spectre?" Anderson's response was another nod. I raised an eyebrow at his willingness to use facial language rather than words to answer her questions, but I knew he wasn't much of a politician.

The reporter nodded as if the responses were completely natural. "What was going through your head when this happened?" She cocked her head to hear his response better. I didn't realize this until now, but I was curious as well.

Anderson smiled again. "Spectres are the will of the Council. When Shepard became a Spectre, it only made sense for him to have control of one of the most advanced frigates in the Alliance. I never once regretted that choice, and I know it was the correct one. So to answer your question, I'm proud that I was given an opportunity to help him complete his mission."

I was impressed with how Anderson tackled the question. He gave up command of a state-of-the-art ship before his retirement, and he had only positive things to say about it. I had to hand it to him; he had earned a new level of respect from me.

The reporter nodded again before shifting the papers in front of her around. "The word is that you trespassed into the Ambassador's Office and committed assault just so he could escape from his house arrest. Is this true?"

Anderson raised an eyebrow. "I did what I had to in order to keep Saren from taking the Citadel. I don't regret it for one second."

The reporter decided not to pursue that further, instead opting to change the subject. "Last question, Councilor. How did you feel when you found out that Shepard had been killed in action?"

Anderson sighed and looked down for a moment. "Shepard was a symbol of what humanity could achieve. He became a spectre and took another one down in the span of a few months. He will be sorely missed by the entire galactic community."

The reporter waited a moment to make sure Anderson was finished, then grinned at the camera. "Thank you, Councilor."

Anderson nodded in acknowledgment and flashed a grin at the camera before the screen shifted back to the reporter. I decided to shut off the terminal, not wanting to hear what else the reporter had to say about Shepard. I leaned back and shook my head in disbelief.

The Reapers are coming, and our hope of defeating them may have just been taken away. I began to feel fear, knowing that if we still had a chance, it was up to me to make a difference. No one else both knew the threat and had any influence.

I stood up and walked into the room with all the equipment, stopping behind Sriphina and peering over at the contents she was busy translating. She looked up at me and frowned when she noticed my dismayed expression. "What's going on?" she asked, probing for what would've caused me to be so dejected.

I sat down on the chair next to hers and clasped my hands together, leaning forward against my legs. I took a deep sigh before responding. "Shepard's dead," I said softly. It felt like a betrayal to say it out loud, but Sriphina appeared to take it much less harshly than I did. I wasn't surprised, but it hurt regardless.

"Military men are like that, going off and dying for no reason," she responded with a calm indifference. I sighed in exasperation and stood up, towering over her seated form. She looked up at me with a surprised gaze, obviously not expecting this sort of a response. Then again, she might not have known about my involvement with Shepard.

I glared for a moment before I spoke. "Shepard was more than a 'military man'. He was a friend who helped me when there was little reason to. He's the reason I'm here right now," I told her. My voice had gotten more and more cold as I spoke, and I could tell it was having a small effect by the time I finished speaking. I didn't wait for a response, instead opting to immediately turn and storm out of the room. At the door, I turned back. "I'll be back," I stated before walking towards the front door and letting myself out. I needed time to think and process this.

I traversed the alleyway, lost in my thoughts. I was beginning to wonder why I was here. He was waiting around for a terrorist plot to finish while the Reapers likely grew closer and closer to finding a way to bypass the Citadel. I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes, struggling to get the stress under control. I lowered my arms back to my sides when I exited the maze of alleys, searching for a place to think.

Soon enough, I found a place to sit in front of a lake. I sat and stared, trying to clear my head and accept the fact that Shepard wouldn't be able to help in their future fight against the Reapers.

I sat there for hours, staring into the lake and sorting my thoughts as the Thessian sun lowered towards the horizon. When I finally stood up to go back, the darkness of night had engulfed the town. It fit my mood perfectly.

* * *

><p>The data turned out to be a huge wealth of information, unfortunately for far more than the plot I had been sent to stop. As I slowly got over Shepard's death, Sriphina began finding snippets of information regarding the Gray Rose's preparations for the plot. As soon as we found any way to delay them, we immediately took the opportunity to do so. I had to smile when we found the piece of information regarding the projected length of the plan. The grand finale was scheduled for the month before, so our delaying work was doing wonders.<p>

Eight months after Shepard's death, after several false leads, we found our biggest tip yet. We found out the name of the agent referenced in the first piece of info we had decoded. Helena Guartano, the terminal read.

We cross referenced the name into various databases, but found precious little to help our investigation. All we had found out was the name of the ship. Even then, it felt like useless information. If this plot was important enough to the Gray Rose that they spend close to a year doing everything they could to pull it off, they wouldn't make a rookie mistake like using that ship.

We persevered and kept complicating their operations for two more months. We finally got our last break a full eleven months and one week after I first set foot on Thessia. One of the last caches in the data pile was the master plan of the plot. My face paled when I read the first section of it for the first time.

_You are to send our agent to the Citadel and give her access to the Council. Once she is in place, we can begin the revolution we've planned for._

Revolution? What revolution?

Sriphina stood up and flashed a victorious grin. "We hit the mother lode," she said excitedly as she directed the decryption program to finish that section. She stretched and moved over to one of the other terminals in the room. "Let's see who's around to give us a ride," she stated softly to herself as she began going through the docking bay directories.

After a moment, she turned off the terminal and turned to me. "The Thenda Ral is in the city. She's available to take us to the Citadel tomorrow. Better rest up, the rest of the document will be decrypted in a few hours," she ordered as she marched past me out of the room. I blinked after her as she walked past me, then shook my head. I never understood her then, and I still don't now.

The night was uneventful. I slept on the couch for several hours until Sriphina woke me up with an excited grin on her face. "The entire case has been cracked," she hurriedly stated as I sat up and leaned against the back. My body didn't appreciate the sudden change to being awake, and all I wanted to do was go back to sleep.

"Marcus, they want to kill the Council," she began. I cocked my head, making it clear that this confused me.

"Aren't they a Thessian terrorist group?" I asked in return. "Why would they go for the Council?"

Sriphina sighed in annoyance and tapped her head a few times. "Think, Marcus. The revolution they referred to. They're an extremist group that wants only Asari on the council."

I leaned forward against my legs and shook my head. "That's ludicrous. They won't have the same military and intelligence branch without the turians and salarians. I can understand them having problems with humans being on the Council, but this entire thing is too extreme."

Sriphina sighed again. "It's no different from Cerberus," she responded in frustration. "Do you know anything about them?"

That earned her a glare. I hadn't told her about my adventure against them. "More than you think," I shot back unhelpfully.

Sriphina ignored me and continued. "Cerberus wants humanity alone in power. They're insane as well, but think about it Marcus. That doesn't make them any less dangerous."

I stood up and blinked away sleep from my eyes. "I see your point. When do we leave?" I asked, suppressing a large yawn.

"Right now," she said as she turned towards the door. "Everything we need is already aboard. All we need to do now is get there," she explained with a glance back. I shrugged and followed her.

We hired a shuttle to bring us to the docking bay. Reyna flashed us a large grin when we stepped out, then motioned for us to follow her onto the ship. The asari crew looked less surprised to see me this time. I assumed part of it was because Sriphina was with us.

As we traveled, I spent a lot of time in my room. Although being the only human on a ship full of asari was the obvious reason, there was one other that bugged me far more. While the asari I had been fighting with always had an air of cold determination, she was also one of the only people alive that can understand my situation. She was used to fighting in difficult situations, and her opinion on my situation would be invaluable. Sriphina could have an answer.

On the fourth day of our flight to the Citadel, I decided to tell her. I knocked on the door of Sriphina's room. "Come in," she ordered from inside, so I activated the door and stepped in. She glanced up from the terminal before turning it off and standing. I sat down on the bed wordlessly and she followed, giving me a questioning gaze. "What is it?" she asked, noticing that my eyes showed worry.

"I've been thinking about the whole situation," I began slowly, unsure of how she'd respond.

She raised an eyebrow. "What did you come up with?" she asked with curiosity. I felt a pang of annoyance at her bluntness.

"The Gray Rose, the Citadel, Saren, everything." I hesitated a moment before I spoke further, opting to stare down into the ground instead. "I never told you about the reason I'm a spectre."

She raised an eyebrow. "I've seen you fight," she answered back. "I haven't seen any human do what you've done. It's obvious."

I shook my head. "No, that's not the reason," I shot back. I immediately felt guilty at how hard I had snapped at her, but she got under my skin very easily ever since our fight months ago. "I was part of the team that took down Saren."

She blinked at me, then started laughing. "I thought so. I was suspicious when I saw the reports, and your response to Shepard's death made it obvious," she explained confidently. "The Council is very picky with their spectres, and only a privileged few get accepted."

I shrugged, giving myself a moment to find something to say. "You don't understand what really happened," I said after a moment. "I endangered the mission because I couldn't handle the pressure. It gave me permanent nerve damage. I can't use my biotics too much or it flares and paralyzes me."

She nodded. "Hmm, so that's why you couldn't move," she said softly to herself, referencing the mission that caused us to get the data cache in the first place. "So what does this have to do with the Gray Rose?" she added on.

I took a moment before responding. "I crippled myself from my own mistake, and I've lost more than enough friends already. I was trained to do the most difficult jobs from the Alliance, but I've lost enough people that I'm not sure it's worth the price anymore," I explained.

Sriphina leaned back, placing her hands on the bed to take the weight. "Who exactly did you lose?" she asked, her voice softer than I expected.

I leaned forward with my arms on my knees. "Before I joined Shepard, I was part of a highly skilled team that was sent to put a Cerberus research facility out of business. We succeeded, but everyone on my team was killed." My voice broke, and I gave myself a moment before continuing. "When we went to Therum to go after Liara, I snapped and used all my biotic power to kill a krogan battlemaster. That's where I got my nerve damage."

Sriphina nodded, but remained silent.

"Later on, I found out that my mother died weeks after it happened, and I had a fight with my father about it. Neither of us have tried to speak to the other since," I explained, voice suddenly dropping to a whisper. I shook my head to get the memories to leave before speaking further. "Next, I had to choose for one person to die on Virmire. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make."

I stood up and walked towards the large round cabinet in the middle of the room. Leaning against it, I faced the front door with Sriphina to my left. "None of that hit me harder than Shepard," I finalized with, eyes becoming unfocussed from my stare.

"Shepard saved the Council," Sriphina explained back to me. "He was a hero and a martyr. His death affected everyone," she continued. Her voice gave the hint of condescension, as if she were annoyed at having to state the obvious to me. She sat up and leaned forward on her legs the way I had done moments before.

I shook my head. "You don't understand, Sriphina. Shepard was the first person who truly gave me a chance to succeed. After I nearly killed myself, he took the time to make sure I got enough medical care to be battle worthy again." I looked directly into her eyes with a piercing gaze. "It might have delayed the mission for too long, but he did it anyway. When I attacked a crew member, he understood my reasons and defended it when almost every other captain would have court marshaled me on the spot. When the mission was over, despite all of this, he told the Council that they should instate me as a spectre."

Sriphina sat there silent for a moment, then stood up and stretched. "Sounds like you were more than just a crew mate to him. You almost sound like you were mates," she added lightly. I shot her a fierce glare and walked towards the door. "Calm down," she stated behind me. "I was just joking. Obviously he meant a lot to you. I'm surprised, actually."

I rolled my eyes and opened the door. "You don't understand what it's like to have a friend like that," I shot back coldly before stepping through. "You make me sick."

I didn't wait for a response, instead shutting the door and marching back to my own room.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, although it was partly because I kept my distance from Sriphina. She never tried to speak to me again after our talk, which made it considerably easier. Some of the crew noticed and tried to find out why, but I began ignoring them the moment they made it clear they wanted me to tell them. They got the hint fast, and began leaving me alone.

When the ship approached the Citadel, I wasn't looking forward to knowing what Sriphina would say.

I didn't have to. She was strictly business, just like on Thessia. We took a shuttle to the Citadel Tower, where Sriphina said the agent would be. My heart began to pound as we got closer, displaying my nervousness to myself. We stepped out of the shuttle and began to march towards the tower while I tried my hardest to keep it under control.

The tower loomed above us soon enough, the height intimidating rather than impressive this time. We walked in and took the elevator towards the top, ready to see the Council and warn them of the plot. When the elevator stopped, my heart skipped a beat.

The agent from the Gray Rose was there. I had seen her picture, and this was definitely her.

"Stop!" I yelled at her as I pulled out my pistol and aimed it at her face. "Turn around and put your hands in the air." Sriphina followed my lead and pulled out her assault rifle.

The three alien councilors stared at me in shock. Anderson simply gave me a small smile. Sparatus shot us a glare when the shock began wearing off, then addressed us in a cold voice. "What is going on?"

I stepped forward slowly as the asari agent in question turned and raised her hands with a cold scowl. "Helena Guantaro is going to kill you if she isn't stopped," Sriphina said loudly as we drew closer, keeping her assault rifle steady. "They're going to use your deaths to place an all-asari council in power."

Helena gave a small grin. "So you figured it out," she said coldly. She quickly reached into her armor and pulled out a small cylinder, hovering her thumb over the top. "Make any more movements, and this entire room gets blown out of the sky."

I stopped moving, but didn't lower my gun. I scowled, my frustration deepening with each passing second.

The asari gave another cold smile. "Don't think about killing me either. The moment I die, there's a failsafe that sets off the bomb regardless." She looked around at the guards in the room, .

I lowered my pistol and looked into my hands, suddenly getting an idea. I thought back and remembered that Sriphina told me I instantly appeared next to one of the Gray Rose members in the warehouse. I activated my biotics and focused on Helena, unsure how exactly I had done it last time. Sriphina gave me a confused glance, but I ignored her and concentrated.

Helena didn't notice. She had already turned back towards the Council. "If you step down peacefully, you can live," she threatened. "We will get what we want whether you're dead or alive. Better to do it the easy way."

I thought back to when I used a biotic charge against the Gray Rose. How did I do it? I forced myself to calm down and thought logically about the situation. I looked up towards the asari agent and narrowed my eyes, letting out a small grin. I had an idea.

I took a deep breath and imagined myself at her side and pushing her away. Smiling to myself, I felt a strong flare in my biotics as it came true. Helena stumbled forward, the detonator flying out of her hands. She stumbled over the edge towards the garden where I had fought Sovereign a full year ago, and I grabbed her leg just in time to stop her from falling down to what was likely her death. I glared as I pulled her up. Several guards began crowding us, but I ignored them.

"Your little plan is over," Sriphina coldly told the agent as she walked up with her assault rifle lowered. "You have no weapon against the Council anymore. Surrender now, and you might be given mercy."

Helena scowled, but did nothing else as the C-Sec officers pulled her up. When she was dragged past Sriphina, the failed assassin spat in her face in contempt. Sriphina smirked and slapped her harshly in return. I rolled my eyes and turned towards the Council. "I'm sorry this had to happen," I told them as I stood straight again.

Tevos grinned at us in gratitude. "No need to be. You just saved not only our lives, but possibly many more. Who knows what would have happened if their plan went through? We would've probably had a bigger war than the one we just finished," she explained. "You two are to be commended. You've done the galaxy a great service today."

I nodded and grinned back, catching Anderson's knowind nod in the process.

"Both of you have earned a rest," Valern continued. He nodded curtly at us. "Stay on the Presidium for a few days and enjoy yourselves. We'll call for you when we need you again."

I nodded and turned, but Anderson spoke up next. "Marcus," he said, causing me to turn back with a curious look in my eye.

He waited a moment, then nodded. "Meet me in my office in fifteen minutes. There's something important we have to discuss."

I raised an eyebrow, but he shook his head in finality. I nodded and turned back around, walking with Sriphina towards the entrance. "Looks like we're done working together for now," she told me. "I've been going after the Gray Rose for decades. I don't think they'd send me anywhere else."

I shrugged. "Who knows," I responded almost sarcastically. "They might think you need a break from fighting terrorists."

She rolled her eyes. "Right. Anyway, it was fun working with you. I hope we meet again." She accented her last sentence with an extended hand. I debated with myself for a moment, but I decided in the end to grab it, giving it a single firm shake before walking out of the tower.

I walked into Anderson's office fifteen minutes later to find him sitting at his desk. He nodded to me and motioned towards one of the seats on the other side of his desk. I sat and waited for him to speak.

He typed for a moment on his console, then leaned back and turned his gaze to me. "There's something disturbing we've found out about recently," he began. I raised an eyebrow, but let him continue.

He sighed and stood up. "It's about Shepard. We got an anonymous message recently that both Cerberus and the Collectors are interested in his body."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Wouldn't it be mostly rotten by now?" I responded, clearly confused. I knew Shepard was an important person in life, but I never would have thought anyone would be interested in a rotting corpse. Regardless, I was interested in finding out more.

Anderson shrugged. "Apparently not," he responded calmly. "The one who sent the message appeared to know a lot about it. If this person knows anything about Shepard's body and what Cerberus and the Collectors want with it, our best interests lie in finding out."

"I understand. Is there any indication where I should go?"

Anderson nodded back. "Yes. The message was specifically for you." Alarm bells began to ring in my head. There was someone who was interested in Shepard, had knowledge that I wouldn't think very many people would think of, and knew my identity on top of that. It sounded more and more like a trap by the second.

I let Anderson continue, knowing that he probably had thought this all through.

"I would assume that our mysterious contact here would have a plan for when you get there. But as to where you're going, it's someplace even more interesting than Thessia."

He sat down in the chair again, his gaze becoming even more serious. "The message is from Illium."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I have a few quick announcements before ending this chapter.**

**First, Chapter 18 will likely take longer than usual. A lot of the earlier chapters are going to see changes, and I'd like these changes to be done before I go on since some of them are going to change how the story continues.**

**Second, this is for anyone who likes roleplaying. One of my friends, LarugeNoa, has come up with a very interesting story taking place 100 years after the end of Mass Effect 3. I've seen some of what she has planned, and I can tell a lot of thought has gone into it. If you're interested in joining it, the link to it is in my profile. Everyone is welcome to join.**

**Third, I'd like to thank Abstract1106 and Carleen for dedicating several hours of their time to helping me improve my story. I'd like to thank Roseria Sylvester and TheRev28 for their ongoing help as well. Every little bit is appreciated.**


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